Burn It Down
by Pakmai
Summary: Lucifer is about to go down to Lux for the evening when he gets a call from his Detective. Chloe has lost everything and turns to Lucifer for help. Can they bridge the gap between them, open up, and learn to love? Set in Season 2 after Sin Eater. Chloe/Lucifer. Deckerstar.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. The show belongs to Fox/DC/Netflix, etc. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.**

**I seem to be late to all of the fantastic shows. This is my first attempt at a character that is so blatantly flirty though. Hope you all enjoy it! Apologies if it seems to end somewhat abruptly. I'm keeping this as a one-shot for now even though it is part of a larger story. I just don't want to disappoint anyone if I decide not to continue it. So let me know what you think, if there's enough interest maybe I'll post more!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**

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Lucifer finishes the last of his drink as he finishes preparing to head down to Lux for the night when his cellphone rings and he grins a little as he looks down at it. "Detective!" He answers in a cheerful tone. "Rather late for a case, or maybe you just-"

"Lucifer." Chloe interrupts, her voice sounding a little ragged and hoarse, with a serious tone that makes Lucifer stop in his tracks.

"What is it, Detective, what's wrong?" Lucifer asks more seriously, already picking up his car keys and heading for the elevator. Whatever is wrong, it can't be good, for her to sound like that.

Clearing her throat a little, Chloe takes a deep breath before she speaks. "There's been a fire. At.. at my house." He was her first phone call after the EMT's checked her and Trixie out, even though she knew she should call Dan first, she also somehow knew that her partner would immediately pick up. And despite herself, his smooth British tones do more to soothe her nerves than she would have anticipated.

"I'm heading to the car now. Are you and Beatrice alright?" Lucifer asks, an unfamiliar fear slicing through him as he thinks of either Chloe or Trixie being seriously hurt. He conveys to Maze with a look that he'll be gone, and with the phone to his ear and the look on his face, the demon can guess the cause, so she merely nods in response.

"Yeah.. We're both fine, Lucifer." Chloe reassures quickly, letting out a breath, knowing he's on his way. "But the house.. it.. it's a total loss. They're still trying to put it out." She explains before she sighs. "Listen, I.. I have to call Dan. I'll see you when you get here.

Already sliding into his convertible, Lucifer starts it up as he listens to the last of the information. He bristles at the idea that she would call Detective Douche, before reminding himself that the man is the father of young Beatrice and so has a right to know. "I'm in the car now. I'll be there soon, Detective. Not to worry." He reassures before he hangs up, dialing Maze as he peels out of of the club and onto the main street.

He spends a few minutes filling in his demon ninja bodyguard about Chloe, setting a few things in motion before he finally hangs up, focusing on his driving. He's definitely relieved that they're ok, but then again, the Detective does have a habit of underplaying things, and she's clearly trying to keep things together for her spawn. So it could be more serious.

It's easy to tell where the fire is when Lucifer gets closer, not only from the smoke still rising from the rubble, but also from the fire trucks and EMT trucks that are crowded into the small yard. Parking out of the way, Lucifer adjusts his jacket and his cuffs as he strides toward the scene, easily scanning for his partner. "Detective!" He says in a raised tone – not quite a shout – when he sees the woman standing with the child, blankets wrapped around them both and from the look of it, both of them in their pajamas.

"Lucifer!" Trixie spots him first and runs toward him, attaching herself to his waist as she often does.

This time however, instead of immediately trying to get her off of him, he awkwardly pats her shoulders. "It's alright, child." He tries to comfort, though he has no experience whatsoever in that. His eyes lift to Chloe's as he sees her moving closer. He's equally as surprised when she immediately snakes her arms under his jacket to hug him from the opposite side from Trixie, pressing her face into his chest. It takes him a second to figure out what to do with his arms, but he rests one hand on Trixie's back, the other her wraps around Chloe. "It will be ok, Chloe." He uses her name to try and show how he does understand the seriousness of the situation as he rests his cheek against her head gently.

"Chloe." Dan's voice comes from somewhere behind Lucifer, tone sharper than he might have initially meant when he sees Lucifer with his wife and daughter.

Once again, Trixie, Chloe's little angel, is the first to react. "Daddy!" She shouts, moving away from Lucifer and running to her father, giving her mother a few moments to recover herself. Chloe stays with her face against Lucifer for a few moments, taking in his scent which she finds oddly comforting. Finally ready to face Dan, she lifts her head and starts to move away from Lucifer, who immediately releases her. "Dan.. Hey.." She says awkwardly, putting her arms around herself and noticing how Lucifer lingers close to her side.

"Detective, where did your blanket go? You must be cold.. here." Lucifer says as he notices that somewhere she lost the shock blanket, quickly shrugging out of his jacket and laying it over Chloe's shoulders. He lays a hand in the middle of her back just below her neck for support, and maybe to needle Dan a bit.

Dan leans down to hug Trixie. "Hey, Monkey.. It's ok, I'm here now." He soothes his daughter, though his eyes are watching Lucifer and Chloe. "What happened, Chlo?" He finally asks, continuing to hold his daughter.

"Thanks." Chloe says with a small nod to her partner, appreciating the unspoken way he seems to know things sometimes. "I don't know, Dan." Shes ays as she rubs her forehead with her fingertips slowly. "I woke up to the fire alarm screeching. By the time I got downstairs, almost the entire kitchen was in flames. I just got Trixie, got out and called 911." She explains with a little shrug. "The inspector won't be able to get in until it's been put out completely. But by the time they even got here, it was just.. gone.. I don't know what I'm going to tell my mom." She says in a slightly trembling tone, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she tries to keep it together.

"You shouldn't worry about that now, Chloe." Dan points out in a gentle tone as he stands slowly, keeping his arm around Trixie's shoulders gently. "Thank God you and Trixie got out alright." he says as eh looks down at his daughter briefly before he looks up Chloe again.

"Sounds as if it was a death trap waiting to happen if it went up that quickly. Or it wasn't an accident." Lucifer observes as he looks at Chloe with a slight frown. He slides his hand up just slightly to rest at the base of her neck, long fingers curling around her shoulder slightly. "You should stay with me tonight,I have several guest rooms, and it would be better to be somewhere familiar instead of an expensive hotel room." He offers immediately, no innuendo behind his tone for once.

Frowning at Lucifer, Dan shakes his head. "No way." He says more sharply than he intended. "You and Trixie should stay with me, Chloe. It's gotta be more familiar than his place. Plus, I have some of Trixie's things, at least some clothes for her to go to school in tomorrow." He wheedles, maybe using their daughter as a lure, but he wants to keep Chloe away from Lucifer.

Chloe pinches the bridge of her nose and she nods slowly. "You're right, Dan." She says slowly. "Trixie should stay with you tonight, and maybe tomorrow, too. It's going to get days to sort everything out with the insurance company and everything. You have stuff for her, like you said." She says with a small nod of her head. "I'll stay with Lucifer. It's quieter and he can give me a ride into work." She decides with a small nod of her head. She's not exactly sure that staying with Lucifer is the safer option, but she doesn't want to confuse things and give Trixie the wrong impression that she and her dad might get back together. Not after everything Dan did with Malcolm, he's lucky she's not filing for full custody. Glancing up at her partner for a moment, she tries not to smile when she sees the smug expression on his face. He was going to be insufferable. But he came when she needed him. He didn't question, didn't complain, and didn't interrogate her. He knew something was wrong, and his first concern was for her and Trixie. Despite what he might say about disliking children.

In contrast, when she called Dan, he had tried to almost brush her off like he was in the middle of something more important, before she told him about the fire. And even then, when he asked about her and Trixie, it seemed almost obligatory and not from any real concern. He was her father, for God's sake. The contrast between these two men had never been sharper, in Chloe's opinion. Despite everything, all the weirdness and the constant attempts at trying to get her into bed – though that had at least calmed down some recently – Lucifer would always have her back. He was always there for her, and he was good with Trixie, despite how much he seemed to dislike children in general.

Dan's voice brings her back to the present. "Are you kidding me, Chlo?" Dan asks as he looks over at Lucifer with distaste.

That's just about enough of that, Lucifer thinks, shaking his head a little. "I think the Detective has been through enough tonight. She appears to have made up her mind." He says in a firm tone before he looks over at Chloe. "Is there anyone you need to talk to before you leave?" He asks as he motions with his free hand toward the various firemen and such that are around.

Dan bristles, but he realizes he can't really argue in front of Trixie, without upsetting both her and Chloe. "Fine." He says in a stiff tone. "Come on, Trixie. Say goodnight to mommy, and we'll get you home." He says toward his daughter.

Trixie rushes over to her mother who crouches down to meet her. "Goodnight, Mommy. Luficer will keep you safe right?" she asks in a slightly trembling tone.

"I most certainly will, Beatrice. She'll be very safe with me. And maybe after your mother has gotten things sorted, you can both sleep over, hm?" Lucifer offers with a little smile as he looks down at Trixie.

"Really? Can we have a sleepover, mommy?" Trixie asks, immediately cheering up because she believes Lucifer and has complete faith in him for whatever reason.

Smiling a little at her daughter and giving her a firm hug, Chloe nods a little. "Sure, babe. In a few days, alright? I've got a lot of work to do, and I need to replace some of our stuff. I know it's sad to lose our stuff, but you'll get all new toys, and new clothes, and it'll be ok, monkey, I promise." She reassures as she watches her daughter.

Trixie finally nods, giving her mother one last hug. "Ok." She says easily. "Goodnight, mommy." She says, kissing her cheek. "Night, Lucifer!" She says with a wave as she returns to Dan's side.

Standing and waving a little, Chloe watches her daughter leave with Dan and then she sighs a little as she looks over at Lucifer. "Thank you, Lucifer. For everything. I won't be in your hair for long, I promise, just a few days until I get something sorted out.." She reassures as she looks at him, taking a deep breath.

"Take as long as you need, Detective. I don't mind having you as my guest." Lucifer reassures, before he smirks a little. "Maybe I'll finally be able to convince you to give in to your desires." He says with a playfully seductive tone, leaning over toward her a little.

Chloe can't help but laugh a little, and she swats at his arm a little before she pulls his jacket back around her again. She can't even be mad or exasperated at him at the moment. It's just good to know that he's still her Lucifer. "Yeah, good luck with that." She says with a shake of her head, smiling as she looks at him. "I'll be right back, just let me see if they need me." She says with a small nod, resting her hand on his arm for a moment before she turns to carefully walk back over to one of the firemen, talking to him for a moment.

Although he was only half teasing, Lucifer finds himself pleased to have made Chloe laugh, despite the situation. He nods to her before watching her walk off. When his phone buzzes he pulls it out to check the screen before he answers. "Have you done what I asked?" He asks of his right hand demon.

"Yes. It's done. All of it." Maze reports faithfully from the other end of the phone.

"Good. We'll be heading back in a few minutes." Lucifer says before he hangs up, sliding his phone back into his pocket as Chloe comes back toward him. "Shall we?" He asks, taking a step back slightly to motion her toward his car.

"Thank.. They said they would call if they had any questions about what happened." Chloe says with a nod as she walks past him, carefully picking her way through the grass since she doesn't even have shoes. "Who was that on the phone?" She asks, deciding to be a little nosy so she can keep her mind off the fact that she just lost everything she owns and still smells like smoke. At least she could be sure that Lucifer's shower was going to be amazing. Because if anyone knew luxury, it was Lucifer Morningstar.

"Oh, just Maze. Just letting me know she had finished a task I asked her to do." Lucifer says dismissively as he looks over at her, then he sighs a little. "For goodness' sake, Detective, couldn't the EMT's at last have given you some socks?" He asks, and with a quick stride of his long legs he gets in front of Chloe a little before he turns and scoops her up into his arms, bridal style. "No need to ruin those delicate little feet of yours." He says with a smirk as he carries her effortlessly toward the car.

"That's not really something they just carry around with the emergency supplies, Luci-FER!" Half his name turns into a cry of surprise as Chloe is picked up, and she grabs onto his coat so it won't fall down from around her with one hand, the other grabbing around his neck. "I can walk just fine, put me down." She hisses, though her heart is pounding from the sudden movement and the reminder of Lucifer's hidden strength. It doesn't seem like he's straining at all to carry her. And while she's not a heavy person and she's seen some of Lucifer's muscles first hand, it still shocks her because between his height and skinny suits, he always seems lean to her.

"You've had a long, stressful night, Detective." Lucifer points out, not bothered by her objections. "You don't know what could be on the ground. What if there were a needle or something, hm?" He points out as he looks at her. "As much as you want to think this is a nice neighborhood, you just don't know. Better not to risk it when there's an alternative." Not to mention he likes hearing her gasp and feel her cling to him. As if he would ever drop her. Her weight was nothing in comparison to his angelic strength.

Chloe hated that he was right. It was a good neighborhood but you just never knew what could be hidden in the gravel or the grass. Sighing a little, she lets him carry her, resting her head on his shoulder for the brief walk to his car. "I knew you would come when I called. You always have my back, Lucifer." She mumbles softly, not sure if he would hear or even understand, but she still felt the need to say it.

Tightening his hold briefly on Chloe, Lucifer just nods a little. "Always, Detective. I will always be here when you need me." He reassures as he walks around his car and leans down without opening the door to deposit her gently in the passenger's seat. He had the top down a she always does, so it's easy enough.

Not wanting to lose his jacket, Chloe pushes her arms through the sleeves after he puts her down, buckling up and nodding a little. She's not sure what else to say a situation like this. "Lucifer, can we -" She stops as she realizes she was going to ask him to stop so she can at least get a toothbrush and stuff, but her purse, ID wallet, and everything was in the house. "Nevermind. I don't have any money."

Arching an eyebrow after sliding behind the wheel, Lucifer seems intrigued as to what she might be asking him. At least until she mentions money. Nothing interesting, then. Pity. "Don't worry, Detective. If you're concerned for your toiletries, it's all been taken care of." He had planned to surprise her when they got back to his penthouse, but he would rather relieve her worry. "I had Maze purchase some items for you." He reassures as he starts the car and drives back toward Lux, this time at a slower speed, since he's not in such a hurry.

Clearly surprised at the thoughtfulness, Chloe's eyebrows go up as she stares at Lucifer. "Oh. Thank you, again..." She says with a little shake of her head. Just when she thinks she has her partner pegged, he pulls something like this that sets her off-kilter again. "That's actually.. really thoughtful." She admit, sounding surprised.

"I'm wounded, Detective. We've been partners for over a year now. We know one another rather well. Obviously, with the loss of your home and everything inside, you would want to get cleaned up to retain some normalcy. And while I would be happy to let you use any of my products, it would hardly set you at ease. You would be self-conscious the entire day, thinking that someone may notice and get the wrong impression. It still baffles me as to why that should matter to you so much. Most of the precinct thinks we're sleeping together anyway." Lucifer muses as he continues to drive, glancing over at her occasionally.

Once again surprised, Chloe turns to stare at Lucifer, her mouth open a little at that revelation. He really does pay attention. "I care because it's no one's business /who/ I sleep with." She says with a little shrug, frowning briefly as she looks at the strange man at her side. A part of her does wonder whether he notices all of this about everyone, or if it's just because he's so fixated on her for whatever reason.

There's silence in the car as Lucifer muses over this new little tidbit of information. "And here I thought it was merely having sex with me which you found so distasteful." He says with a little smirk as he looks over at Chloe, not wanting her to see how much she had confused him. And yes, he'd never been rejected so vehemently by a woman before and it did hurt a bit at first. It was soothed the better he got to know her though, and now their partnership was far more important to him than getting her into bed. He'd still love to turn her into a quivering puddle of satisfied flesh of course, and still believes it will eventually happen. There are just more pesky feelings in the way at the moment.

Chloe can't help but chuckle a little as she glances at Lucifer. "You don't need your ego stroked, Lucifer." She says with a small shake of her head, deciding to drop the subject altogether as they pull up to Lux.

Before Chloe can get out and risk her feet again, Lucifer jogs around the car after tossing his keys to the valet. Scooping her back up out of the seat and into his arms, Lucifer delights in the way she clings to him again. "In deference to your current situation, Detective, I'm going to ignore what you just said." He says with a little smirk, since there are so may 'stroked' comments he could have made. He carries her to his private entrance, leaning down a little to tap his code into a panel and then press a button to summon the elevator.

Chloe can't help but grab around Lucifer's neck again when she's lifted up, letting out an involuntary squeak. She slowly loosens her death hold around his neck, putting her head down on his shoulder instead. "I didn't know you had an entrance out here. Sneak a lot of women out the back, huh?" Chloe asks with a little smirk as she looks up at him.

"Not usually. From time to time I do prefer to be able to get into my penthouse without being accosted by women." Lucifer points out with amusement a he steps inside the elevator with Chloe. And while he could put her down once inside because there certainly is nothing in his elevator that would harm her feet, he continues to hold her. He enjoys it and she doesn't seem to be struggling to get down so he sees no reason why he can't indulge his desires just this once, especially when they're so tame.

Snorting a little at that mental image which is easy to conjure since she's seen women accosting Lucifer before, Chloe thinks about it for a few moments. "I don't see how you can let women do that." She finally says, lifting her head to look at his face. "I mean, I've seen women who you have obviously never met before walk right up to you and practically molest you. At the very least they feel you up pretty good. It really doesn't bother you that they practically treat you like a piece of meat?" She asks as she watches his eyes confused about that.

Lucifer can't help but smirk a little as he watches her. "Do you mean like a certain /someone/ did to see if I was wearing some sort of protective vest under my shirt?" He teases, still vividly remembering when Chloe made him believe she was finally succumbing to his charms and felt him up. He grins slightly as he watches Chloe's slight discomfort and decides to have mercy on her. "To answer your question, no. It doesn't bother me at all. Feels rather nice actually." He reassures as he looks at her with a smile. "I appreciate your concern, Detective. And to be clear, should you ever want to refresh your memory, you needn't ask. Say the word, and I would be putty in your hands, eager too let you have your wicked way with me." His voice dips seductively as he watches her, and he licks his lips a little as he watches her pupils dilate somewhat. So she isn't totally unaffected by him, that's rather interesting.

"Lucifer!" Chloe scolds, shaking her head a little and rolling her eyes in exasperation. "This really isn't the time for your... Luciferness." She says as she vaguely motions to him, not sure what else to call his antics. Still, she eyes him skeptically for a few moments. After all his talk and boasting, she is a little curious and still trying to keep her mind off the fact that her life has been devastated. "Would you do that?" When she sees his questioning look, she blushes a little and looks away from his dark eyes, focusing on the little hollow at the base of his neck. "I mean. Theoretically. You're all about fulfilling desires, right?" She doesn't wait for a response before continuing. "So. If I said.. I desired to.. um.. just touch you.. without interference. You would allow that?" She asks, finally peeking up at him.

Ohhh.. Theoreticals. This is good. Maybe Lucifer will finally get a peek into the desires Chloe has been hiding so well from him. When the elevator dings, he steps into his penthouse, walking over and setting her down on one of the barstools gently. Grasping her chin gently to force her to face him, he looks into her eyes before he grins slowly. "Yes, Detective. If that is what you truly desired, I would let you explore my body to your heart's content without so much as lifting a finger. I'd even let you cuff me if it would make you feel better, though you and I both know how easily I can get out of those." He smirks a little, but his tone is serious, and he's not even trying to be overly flirty or seductive.

Caught up in the depths of his eyes, Chloe stares at him and shivers slightly at his response. Yes, please. Wait. No. This is Lucifer. That's not going to happen. So says 90% of her brain, but that sneaky little 10% of her mind that is sexually frustrated with a dry spell that has lasted more than a year, sneaks out another question. "And if that's all I wanted?"

"Mmmm... Bit of a sadist, are we?" Lucifer asks in a slightly more breathless tone as he looks into her eyes. "If you could truly contain yourself to just touching me, I would not pressure you into more, Chloe. More than anything else, I value consent. I would never force a partner into anything they were uncomfortable with. I only give them what they desire." He reassures as he watches her, head tilting to the side a little as his eyes move from hers down to her slightly parted lips for a moment before returning to hers.

Chloe just blinks a few times as she looks at him. That actually says more about him than she thought she was going to get, how firm he seems about consent. She wonders not for the first time what must have happened in his childhood for him to end up like this, and if he was ever forced to do anything against his will. "I need a shower." She mumbles before she gives in to her desire to run a hand through his hair and scrape her nails along his stubble.

"As you wish, Detective." Lucifer says, moving away from her and heading with smooth strides up into his bedroom, coming back with a dark red button-down shirt. "I hope this will suffice for something else to sleep in tonight. I hardly think you'll enjoy the smell of smoke on your current ensemble." He muses as he looks over her t-shirt and pajama pants for the first time.

Chloe slides off the stool and takes off his jacket. "Uh.. yeah. Sure." She says with a little blush as she takes his shirt from him and hands him back his jacket. S he's surprised at how soft the fabric is. "I'm guessing you just have the one bathroom?" She asks, knowing there might be a hidden bedroom somewhere, but she can't really see there being any extra bathrooms.

"Unfortunately for you, yes. You know where it is. Suitable toiletries should be on the counter." Lucifer says as he takes his jacket from her, heading back into his bedroom to hang it up, and the vest he was wearing under it, in his closet. "Just give me a shout if you need someone to wash your back." He says with a little grin as he looks at Chloe curiously.

Sighing a little and shaking her head with a slight smile at his Luciferness, Chloe moves past him and she closes the door behind her before examining his ridiculous bathroom. The tub alone could fit at least three people and the shower could probably fit six. Shaking her head a little, she goes to the bag on the counter, unpacking the items with a bit of surprise. Maze has good taste, and a few of the things are the type of product she buys maybe once a year on a sale or during a splurge but normally gives up since she doesn't need to spend that much money on something she mostly is literally washing down the drain.

It takes her a few minutes to figure out how to turn on the shower, and with a wary glance at the door, Chloe undresses and steps under the warm water. She knows that staying here in the penthouse for an extended period of time isn't going to be good. Lucifer is smart, and there's no way he doesn't know the effect the has on her. Which might be the reason he's never given up on getting into her pants. Then again, he's never once acted on this knowledge. Which comes back to what he said about consent. She's always said no, and so besides teasing her, he hasn't pushed it. She's always just thought about how annoying it was, but for over a year now she has never thought about the fact that he hasn't actually /done/ anything. That makes her smile though, and gives her some of her confidence back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys for your response to this story! I was really surprised by all the follows and reviews I've gotten. I'm glad you enjoyed it, so I decided to post another chapter. Some of you have been really kind about saying I could try just one more chapter, or maybe just a few more. I just wanted to say, I have a LOT written for this fic, already finished. I just wasn't sure if I wanted to post all of it. Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than the last. And I'm sorry if this starts to get a little OOC, but I plan on exploring the softer side of Lucifer. I hope you all enjoy it! If you do, please let me know and I'll keep posting!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Just playing in a sandbox.**

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While Chloe is in the shower, Lucifer makes sure that Maze did set up the guest room which is somewhat small compared to the rest of the penthouse, though in reality it's an normal bedroom size. Returning to the main room, Lucifer gets himself a drink before he goes to his bedroom to listen for the shower. He's learned quite a lot tonight, and is surprised that Chloe seemed to open up so much. Over a year as partners, and she's always kept him at arm's length emotionally as well as physically. Apparently the loss of everything has made the Detective a little more appreciative of him.

Unfortunately Lucifer is having a problem getting a certain image out of his head of him stretched out on the bed in just his boxers while Chloe leans over him, her smaller hands on him, her hair brushing his chest. He sighs a little, taking another drink of his favorite whiskey. Now he just has to figure out how to keep the Detective from running off too soon. Having her stay with him, that's good, and a first step. Endearing her spawn to the idea is helpful, and he'd even endure the little minx for the sake of keeping Chloe close to him. Just maybe, if he can keep her around, he might finally be able to convince her to give in to her obvious desires. He just doesn't understand it. He can see the reactions, the way her body practically lights up sometimes. And yet she still denies it. It's very frustrating.

Lucifer is still sitting on the edge of his bed in thought, sleeves now rolled up to his elbows, drink in hand when Chloe emerges from the bathroom. Glancing over at her, he does a bit of a doubletake. He told her before he was more of a leg man, and that still stands true. His eyes start at her feet, up her long legs to where the hem of his shirt rests against her thighs. She's had to roll up her sleeves of course, but even the color suits her. "My, my, Detective." he nearly purrs as he looks at her. "You look absolutely ravishing." He says with a little smile before he slowly stands, picking up a glass he had sitting on the end table. "Here. You're not on duty and I thought you might appreciate a drink." he says more gently as he holds the glass out to her.

Shaking her head a little, hair still damp, Chloe takes the glass as she snorts a little. "I think you would say the same thing if I were wearing a paper sack." She says with a shake of her head. "Or are you one of those guys that gets some sort of possessive thrill out of seeing women in their clothes?" She asks, arching an eyebrow as she takes a small drink out of the glass.

"I wouldn't know. I've never had a woman wear my clothes, apart from you, Detective." Lucifer says as he motions to her. "It's not as if they have any need of clothes, and they can certainly leave in what they came in." He explains as he looks at her. "Now.. I did have the guest bedroom made up as promised, or you could stay in here." He gives a single twitch of his eyebrows up and an impish grin as he glances over at his bed.

Rolling her eyes a little, Chloe can't help but laugh a little. It's actually easier to relax now, despite everything, now that she understands Lucifer a little more. She takes a step toward him, looking at his bed thoughtfully. "I don't know.. if I stay in here with you I might find out that the Devil is a secret cuddler." She teases him a little as she takes another drink from the glass.

Well this is different. Chloe is being playful, teasing even. Lucifer isn't sure he's seen this side of her before. He likes it. "I'll never tell." He teases as he watches her. "Even I wouldn't take advantage of you tonight, Chloe. Besides, it's not as if we haven't shared the bed before. And last time you were naked." He points out with a little grin. "When a certain someone drunkenly sought me out and hogged the blankets?" He prompts, watching the realization dawn on her face and he grins a little

"That.. that does not count. I was drunk." Chloe says a little defensively. "Dan had just broken up with me in text. Which, as it turns out, was a blessing in disguise. At least I had already filed the divorce papers before this." She says in disgust with a shake of her head. "Oh, god.. speaking of that, I'm going to have to get new copies of everything.. I doubt my stupid little safe survived the fire... Trixie's birth certificate, her social security card.." She mutters as she stats to think about everything that has to be done and everything she lost. She sits down on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath.

"My Father certainly isn't going to help you here, Detective, so lets leave him out of it, hm?" Lucifer says with a touch of annoyance, before he sits down beside her. "There are memories that were lost, Detective, but the important thing is that you and Beatrice are fine. You two cannot be replaced. Well, I suppose you could replace Beatrice, you're young enough to have another spawn, but it still wouldn't be Beatrice." he says thoughtfully, finishing his drink and setting his glass aside before he looks over at Chloe.

"Yeah... yeah, you're right, Lucifer, it's just.. all of my stuff.. all the photo albums of when Trixie was a baby..." Chloe sighs a little and shakes her head, tilting over to rest her head on Lucifer's shoulder, eyes closing as a few tears slip from her eyes.

Sighing a little, Lucifer shifts and gently puts his arm around Chloe, having wondered when it would all hit her. "I am sure those are very important things, Detective. Beatrice is still here, you can take new pictures and make new albums." He tries to reassure her for a moment, rubbing her arm a little. "I really do think you should stay here with me tonight, Chloe." he says softly, using her name to show his sincerity. "It'll be better for both of us. I won't have to worry that you're secretly having a breakdown, and you will have the comfort of knowing you're not alone." He reassures quietly.

Chloe can't help but snort a little. "You? Worry? I didn't think you worried about anything." She says quietly in her attempt to tease him, though she finds it comes out a little flat.

"You're my partner, Detective. Of course I worry about you. I may not always show it well, but I've grown quite fond of you and your spawn." Lucifer says quietly, resting his cheek against her head gently before he starts to draw away. "Come on, you need some sleep." he says, though it's still very early for him. He takes the glass from her hand, finishing it for her before he slowly gets up and goes to the livingroom, dropping both glasses off at the bar and turning off the lights before he returns and goes into the bathroom to splash some water on his face and empty his pockets onto the counter before he strips down to his boxers.

While Lucifer is wandering around, Chloe considers whether she should just allow him to dictate the sleeping arrangements. She will admit he has a point, and he did just show her some vulnerability, so she figures that behavior needs to be rewarded. Glancing at the bed, she sighs and when he disappears into the bathroom, she slips between the sheets on the side farthest from the rest of the penthouse. When he comes back in nothing but boxers though she can't help but stare a little, especially since he seems so at ease, as if she saw him in his boxers every day.

"Should I let you take a picture so you can examine it later?" Lucifer teases as he sees her staring at him. "I even brought your phone back." He hands the device over, waggling his eyebrows a little at her playfully as he slides between the sheets.

"No, thanks. I don't need that." Chloe says dryly as she takes her phone and puts it on the night stand on her side, hoping that it has enough charge to last through the night. "Thanks." She says before she rolls onto her side to face him. "Thank you for everything, Lucifer." She says quietly after a moment, the comfort of the bed and the warmth of the sheets finally draining the last of her energy.

"You're very welcome, Detective." Lucifer murmurs with affection as he turns on his side briefly, waiting and watching until her breathing evens out in sleep. He uses a remote to turn off the bedroom lights before he stretches out on his back and allows himself to drift off as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you everyone for reading! I've felt kind of bad all week for the last short chapter, so I figured I would upload another one to make up for it. Please, if you're enjoying this, let me know, drop a quick review! I actually thought of somewhere to go with this plot-wise the other day, so this might end up being more extensive if people are interested in reading it. Thank you for your follows/views/reviews so far!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**

**DISCLAIMER: Characters are not mine. Not even a little.**

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Waking up with a warm body next to him is not something Lucifer is unfamiliar with, except this time he doesn't have the usual sense of sexual satisfaction or smugness that often accompanies the sensation. Still a bit fuzzy from sleep, Lucifer opens his eyes and looks down to see what beauty has decided to attach herself to him. Needless to say he's a little surprised to see a familiar blonde head nestled against his chest. While his memory of the night before comes back quickly, he distinctly remembers going to sleep on separate sides of the bed. And while it doesn't appear he has moved all that much, it does mean that Chloe crossed most of the bed seeking comfort or warmth from him. She's quite the octopus as well, with her head nestled against his bare chest, one arm snugly around his waist, and one of her bare legs hooked over his.

Softly, Lucifer chuckles as he looks down at his predicament, and instead of trying to escape the hold and risk waking her up, he curls his arm a little more securely around her body, carefully rubbing her back as he turns his head to take in the scent of her hair and that uniquely Chloe smell that he could identify anywhere. There's no doubt in his mind that she'll be embarrassed when she wakes up, try to make up some ridiculous excuse as to why she will find herself there against him, but for now he enjoys it. The sun is just barely starting to peek over the horizon and even if his Detective is an early riser like he suspects, he knows he has a little time.

Carefully, Lucifer moves his hand from her back to lift a strand of hair from where it's fanning out across his arm and the pillow. She has such lovely, soft hair, he muses, as he wraps it around his finger loosely, rubbing his thumb across it. Of course, there isn't a single part of Chloe that he would say isn't lovely. And he's had the pleasure of seeing all of it. Perhaps not up close and personal, but twice he's seen her naked and both times has been a torturous pleasure.

After releasing her hair, Lucifer slides his hand back down to her back, not attempting to cop a feel since that would be beneath him, especially with Chloe. No, he wants her to come to him willingly before he allows himself to touch her intimately. Leaning his head down, Lucifer presses his lips against Chloe's hair gently before he murmurs. "Oh, my dear Detective. Why won't you just give in? You would have no regrets, I promise you that." When she starts to squirm a little, his eyebrows go up and he puts his head back on the pillow as he realizes she's starting to wake up, shifting his head just enough so he can see /something/ of her face.

Chloe wakes slowly, an unusual sensation for her since normally she is jerked awake by her alarm. Maybe she woke up before it for once. She does feel unusually rested. She's also comfortable and warm which is nice, and really makes her not want to move. With inhibitions still low from sleep, when she feels the warm skin beneath her hand and cheek, she doesn't immediately pull away, instead she takes a deep breath as everything from last night starts to come back in bits and pieces. It's only when she hears a, "Good Morning, Detective." In a deep, slightly sleep-roughened voice, that she stiffens a little.

Slowly, Chloe opens her eyes and realizes that she is using Lucifer's very warm, very naked chest as her pillow. She's about to pull away when she feels his strong arm around her holding her against him. "G-good morning, Lucifer.." She mumbles, before she blushes a little and lifts her head to look up at him. "I am so sorry." She finally says as she starts to release him. "I must have been cold or something." She says as an excuse.

Upset is definitely not the expression she gets a look at. Lucifer is grinning, a bit amused as he looks at her. "Not to worry, Detective. It was quite a pleasant way to wake up." He reassures, stroking her back soothingly while holding her against him. "Feel free to stay a while, you looked rather comfortable. I know I was." He reassures playfully as he watches her. "The sun is barely up, so there's no need for either of us to get out of bed just yet."

A little exasperated, Chloe rolls her eyes a little but since he doesn't seem to want to let her get up, she's still sleepy, and lets face it, Lucifer is a warm, sexy and a comfortable pillow, she puts her head back down on it with a small huff. "I knew sharing a bed was a bad idea." She mumbles with a little sigh.

"I don't see anything innately bad about this, Detective." Lucifer points out, slightly confused. "We shared a bed. During the night, your unconscious mind sought me out for whatever reason. Most likely comfort, given your traumatic night. We both slept well and it's not as if you had your hand down my pants." He points out before he grins. "Think I would have woken up a bit sooner if it was." He purrs with a broad grin.

Chloe rolls her eyes a little but she can't help but smile. Because no matter what, Lucifer is still Lucifer. She sighs, shifting her arm to rest along Lucifer's chest, her hand in front of her face. His skin is softer than she expected, and she finds herself stroking her fingers across it without moving the rest of her hand. She stops when she realizes what she is doing, frowning at her hand. "You know, you talk a lot about giving people their desires, or finding out their desires." She says thoughtfully as something occurs to her.

Although this is a rather strange turn in the conversation, Lucifer follows to see what it will go. "Well yes, Detective. That's sort of my thing. Devil, remember?" He reminds her gently with a little smile, having quite enjoyed her little caress but he knows better than to draw attention to it or it might not be repeated. Maybe if she thinks he didn't notice, or doesn't care enough to comment, she might be more willing to repeat it.

"Has anyone ever asked you what /you/ desire?" Chloe finally asks, lifting her head enough to look up at him, chin resting against his chest now. She's never heard him talk about his own desires, not really. He boasts about being such a great lover, giving memorable nights and everything points to him being a more than considerate lover. As she thinks about it though, she realizes he's never really stated /his/ preferences. It's like he just becomes whatever his partners want him to be. But she's not interested in some facade he might put up. She has always wanted to know the real Lucifer, and sometimes she even gets glimpses behind his seductive, playboy persona. She treasures those more than anything because she knows that her partner doesn't expose himself like that to anyone else. Not if he can help it at least, and lets face it, he can always help it.

For a few moments there's a slightly confused look on Lucifer's face like he doesn't quite understand the question. He shifts, putting his free arm behind his head to prop it up a little so he can look at Chloe. "Not that I can recall." He muses as he thinks about it. It's always been clear what his partners wanted from him. They wanted a night they would never forget and that's what he gave to them. Though it was always different, he has always been able to give his partners what they desire.

"So tell me. What is it that Lucifer Morningstar desires?" Chloe asks as she continues to keep her head propped up on his chest, looking into his dark eyes as she lets herself have this little moment before she has to go back to being Detective Chloe Decker.

Lucifer smiles a little as he looks at Chloe, one hand still rubbing up and down her back. He considers, before tucking her hair back behind one of her ears slowly, the gesture seeming almost unconsciously done. "Well, that's a dangerous question, Detective." He murmurs, then he smirks a little. "I think I've made my desires abundantly clear." He points out as he looks at her with a little grin. When he sees that doesn't satisfy her, he sighs a little, going back to stroking her back slowly. "Well, I don't know what else to tell you." He says with a little bit of exasperation. "If you had asked me a few years ago, I might have told you that I wanted a place to belong. A home, if you will. Hell was never home, and Heaven was always.. well, Hell." He muses as he looks at her. "But in large part thanks to you and our partnership, I've managed to find a home, here." He says honestly as he looks at her, deciding to expose himself a little, knowing that Chloe is the one person who would never take advantage of it, unlike his family, or the demons who served him in Hell.

Rolling her eyes at the innuendo, Chloe ignores it and just continues to watch Lucifer. She smiles softly though when she gets a sort of honest answer out of him. "You know, despite how annoying and frustrating you can be, Lucifer, I'm glad that I met you." She says, deciding that his honesty and openness should be rewarded. "And I'm glad we're partners. You make me a better Detective. And I'll admit, it's never boring with you around." She says with a little chuckle, shifting her arm so that her hand rests under her chin.

Deciding to take a chance with a question because his inability to get an answer on his own vexes him, Lucifer tilts his head a little as he watches her. "Why do you deny your desires, Chloe?" He asks gently with a rare use of her real name, his tone void of its usual flirty playfulness. "You can say whatever you want, but I'm not an idiot. If there's one thing I know, it's desire. And I know you desire me. You know I'm more than willing, and more than capable of fulfilling them." He points out as he looks at her, his hand still stroking her back soothingly. He knows she could clam up and escape, run away from him. But he's very much hoping for once that she won't.

The Detective's first instinct is to roll her eyes in exasperation and rebuke what he says, but he's always been honest with her. He's never lied to her, and she feels that she should be honest as well. Besides, in this strange intimacy in the early morning hours in the warmth and comfort of the bed, she feels strangely relaxed. "Because it can never be just that, Lucifer." She says with a little shake of her head as she looks into his eyes, trying to identify all the emotions she sees there. "We're partners. Friends. I don't want to be just another of many." She explains as she looks at him. "You said yourself, you're like walking heroin. Habit forming, right?" She asks, waiting until he nods, though he doesn't look like he understands. "So lets think about it for a moment. We sleep together. It's fantastic, because I believe you. I think it would be." She explains as she looks at him, smiling a little in response to the small smile she sees on his face. "Then what? You get what you want.. satisfy whatever curiosity you have about me. Where does that leave me? I still have to work with you every day. With that memory. I don't think I could do that. And I don't think that I could have sex with you, without getting emotionally involved. Worst case scenario, I lose my friend and my partner. For what? One night of great sex." She explains, before she sighs a little. "Besides, you are all about fulfilling desires of the moment. Which is fine, that's who you are, I accept that. But it means that you don't do relationships." She explains in a matter-of-fact tone, not judging him, having accepted him for who he is a long time ago. She believes he will always be himself though, and just doesn't see him as the relationship type.

"Oh, Detective..." Lucifer says quietly, shaking his head a little sadly as he looks at her, moving his hand from her back to stroke the backs of his fingers across her cheek slowly, "You really don't understand, do you?" He takes a deep breath slowly, not wanting to jar her too much, before he sighs and looks up at the ceiling briefly.

"Fine. Explain it to me, Lucifer." Chloe says in a slightly frustrated tone, not understanding what she's missing.

Looking back down into those beautiful eyes, Lucifer smiles sadly as he looks at Chloe, the strange magic of this intimate moment working on him as well. "At first, I may have wanted to.. how did you phrase it? Satisfy my curiosity. It's so much more than that now though. Can you not see how much you have changed me?" He asks as he looks at her. "You could never be a one night stand, Chloe." He confesses as he looks into her eyes. "I fear I would become just as addicted to you. I already am, in a way. I'm addicted to your very presence. It's intoxicating. Do you think I would take a bullet for just anyone, much less two of them?" He points out with a little smirk as he looks at her, shifting and sitting up slowly, forcing her to move off his chest and rolling her over onto her back so he can lean over her and look down at her. "The only part of your hypothesis that is correct is that.. I have never had a relationship. Such a thing is wholly unfamiliar to me. However, what is the phrase.. there's a first time for everything?" he asks with a little smirk as he looks at her. "A year ago, I had no concept of what being partners truly meant. Never considered anyone beyond myself." Sighing a little as he looks down at her, he continues. "Just something to consider, Detective." He says in a more brusque manner, leaning down toward her a little and hesitating for a moment before he places a quick, chaste peck on her lips. After that, he rolls away from her and gets up, stretching a little.

"Just let me get a quick shower, and I'll make us some coffee and breakfast, hm?" Lucifer offers after he stands up, barely glancing at Chloe before he moves away and into the bathroom, almost running away to hide and recover himself.

Not moving from her spot, Chloe just stares up at the ceiling, touching her lips with her fingers for a moment, feeling like she's in a state of shock. That was the most open and emotionally honest she had ever seen Lucifer. Her hand moves from her lips to her thundering heart. It certainly was something to consider, and a whole lot of something. Deciding that she couldn't just sit there while Lucifer showered, she gets up and shivers as she walks out into the main room, groaning as she realizes she has nothing to wear. Returning to the bedroom only to grab her phone, she checks her messages, replying to some of her emails and sending out a few more, one to her Lieutenant to explain why she wouldn't be in to work today, one to her insurance company. Walking over to Lucifer's desk, she finds something to write with and starts looking up the numbers she'll need once it is a decent hour and places start opening.

It isn't long before Lucifer comes out, hair still damp, but in his usual slacks and button-up shirt that he's finishing buttoning as he looks around for Chloe. "Ah, there you are." He says casually as if he didn't just bare his soul to her. "What are you doing?"

"Hm?" Chloe looks up at Lucifer, admiring him for a brief moment before she shakes her head a little. "Just getting some phone numbers I'm going to need." She sighs a little, the stress already settling on her shoulders. "I hate to ask this, Lucifer, but.. have your previous.. overnight guests.. left anything that I could actually wear to the bank so I can go get some clothes?"

"Oh, you needn't bother, Detective. Sorry, I must have gotten distracted last night. I had Maze pick up some clothes for you as well, they're in the guest bedroom. They should be along the lines of your usual fashion choices. I was quite specific." Lucifer reassures, before he offers his hand toward her. "Let me show you."

Startled at that, Chloe blinks a few times as she stares at him, touched by his thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Lucifer.. I'll pay you back once I can get to my bank, I promise." She says as she gets up, easily placing her hand in his, feeling a little exposed with him all dressed and her just wearing one of his shirts.

"Nonsense. I have more than enough money, Detective. It's my pleasure." Lucifer says as he leads her down a hallway that is surprisingly hidden between where his bedroom is and the edge of the wall of liquor. "Kitchen." he says as he points to a doorway as they pass it. There's only one other door in the hallway, so it's no surprise when he opens it and motions her inside. There are indeed a few bags sitting on the bed which is made up, the bedroom surprisingly modest compared to the rest of his penthouse.

Chloe releases Lucifer's hand to go over to the bags, looking through them for a few moments, her eyebrows going up as she pulls out a shirt that is just her style. Except way more expensive. Even if all the price tags have been cut off, she can tell by the fabric. "Thank you, Lucifer." She says with a little nod of her head, trying to ignore the sudden hoarseness in her throat or the way her eyes prick with tears.

Clearly uncomfortable with the praise, Lucifer merely nods. "I'll leave you to it. Feel free to make yourself comfortable after you're dressed, I'll bring breakfast out." he reassures, quickly turning and heading down to the kitchen doorway.

Shaking her head a little at her partner's antics, Chloe smiles as she gathers an outfit. Sometimes, he reminds her so much of an awkward little boy with a crush. Digging through the bags to find herself an outfit, Chloe sighs heavily as she sees Maze's choice for underwear. They had better be comfortable, because otherwise the lacy and considerably sexier underwear is just going to make her mad. Stuffing the underwear out of sight, she gathers her pile of clothes and goes to the bathroom to get herself cleaned up for the day, using the makeup that Maze got for her and again wondering at the woman's taste. And why she would do all of this for her, even if it had been Lucifer who asked – ordered? - her to do it.

In fact the whole relationship between Lucifer and Maze confused the hell out of her. She originally thought they were lovers, but it became pretty clear that while they may be odd friends and she's pretty sure they had slept together at some point, it was more of an employer/employee relationship. He gave a request and expected her to obey. And she always did. It didn't seem entirely normal. Though if Lucifer was to be believed, if he was the Devil, and Maze had 'followed him through the gates of Hell', then that would make her some sort of demon. Which was somehow more believable than Lucifer being the Devil. SHE looked the part, and acted the part most of the time. Lucifer did not. Which just sort of proved to Chloe how ridiculous his whole claim was.

Chloe knew that the Devil was originally an Angel according to the stories, and yeah, being a divine being and all would probably give the Devil some tricks. But the Devil was supposed to be evil incarnate. Torturing souls, tempting humans and trying to corrupt them. Ok, so Lucifer definitely was a tempter. Evil though? Never. He could get angry like anyone else, and maybe he had a bit of a temper. Chloe could never be afraid of him though, not when he acted like an oversized puppy a lot of the time. An oversized puppy she wanted to take home and – nope. She cut that thought off with a firm shake of her head as she brushed out her hair, glaring at her reflection in the mirror. Not going there.

Still, based on that little fact alone, Chloe could never believe Lucifer was the Devil. Besides the fact that she didn't believe in God, Angels or the Devil period. And if she was wrong about that, she still could never believe her partner was the Devil, or an evil, unforgivable monster. No matter what he thought about himself, Chloe would never believe it.

Feeling a little more put together and ready to face the day, Chloe finishes putting her elastic on her braided hair before she exits Lucifer's bathroom to head back into his living area, looking around for a few moments. Not seeing her partner, she turns to go back to the door that Lucifer indicated was the kitchen. "Lucifer..?" She asks as she steps inside, staring a little at the almost industrial looking kitchen. Though why should she have expected anything else?

"Detective! I told you I would bring the food to you! Not to worry, it's almost ready. But since you're here, help yourself to some coffee, it's just there." Lucifer turns a little, wearing the 'Kiss the Cook' apron she is fairly sure he stole from her house after the case with the Mexican chef. He is tending to two pans, one with an omelet in it, the other with some bacon. A tray sits to the side with some toast, fruit and a small pitcher of orange juice with two glasses sitting on it. He indicates the coffee maker with his elbow, two mugs already sitting next to it.

Nodding a little Chloe smiles. "Thanks. Smells good." She says with another small nod of her head, never having actually gotten around to tasting Lucifer's cooking. She's sure it will be good, though. Lucifer doesn't do anything in half measures. If he can do something, he does it well. "Do you want some?" She asks as she pours herself some coffee, glancing over at him in this slightly – disturbingly – domestic scene.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Lucifer says with a nod, removing the bacon from the pan onto the towel he has set to the side to absorb excess grease before slipping the omelet from the pan onto a plate, matching another one he apparently already made. The stove gets turned off, bacon patted a bit and then dumped onto another plate. The three plates get added to the try before he sucks briefly on his thumb and starts to remove the apron and set it to the side.

It's almost impossible for her not to have known how Lucifer likes his coffee by now, as Chloe is sure that he knows how she takes hers. So making a second cup for him is easy enough while she's at it. "We should sit on the balcony, looks like it's going to be a nice day." She says to him, picking up the mugs and going for the door. Which luckily just swings back and forth, so she can nudge it open and then wait for him expectantly as she holds it with her elbow, having a coffee mug in each hand.

Watching his detective for a moment, Lucifer nods before he picks up the tray. "Indeed." He says calmly, a little taken aback at how easy this is going between the two of them. After the early morning discussion, he thought there would be more awkwardness. On the Detective's part at least. Rather pleased, he takes tray and carries it out, smiling a little at Chloe as he passes her and walks out toward the balcony, using his own elbow to push open the door before he steps into the warm morning air to settle the tray on a small table he has there with two chairs.

Chloe follows him, taking a moment to admire his smooth gait and broad shoulders, holding back a slightly wistful sigh. There really is no denying that Lucifer strikes an attractive figure. "After breakfast, could you bring me back so I can get my car?" She asks, not wanting to say 'back to my house', since the house is no longer there.

"To what purpose?" Lucifer asks, accepting his coffee from Chloe, taking a drink before placing an omelet and fork in front of her, pouring two glasses of orange juice as well. He takes a few pieces of bacon for himself before sitting back in his chair, the picture of ease. "You can't drive right now, Detective. You don't even have a driver's license." He reminds her gently, knowing that she won't drive without a valid license in hand. Such a stickler for rules. "I'd be more than happy to act as escort for the day." He offers with a little smile, not wanting to give up their newfound emotional intimacy just yet. If she can run off with her own car, then she can leave him behind and nothing will have changed.

Sighing a little since she obviously forgot about her license, Chloe nods. "I'll need to get a new one, but first I need to go to the bank so I'll actually have money to get one.." She mutters, closing her eyes for a moment before she finally gets some bacon and leans forward to take bite of her omelet. Groaning a little, she covers her mouth with her fingertips. "Oh my god, Lucifer. This is amazing." She says, somehow still surprised even though she knew it was going to be good.

"I would appreciate it if you stopped bringing up my Father after such sinful noises, Detective." Lucifer says with a smile that spreads into a grin, before he adds, "But thank you. Another advantage to spending some time here, hm?" He points out with a little smile. "I would be happy to provide whatever financial assistance you need, Detective. But, getting the ball rolling as it were in replacing your cards would be prudent." He allows as he eats his own food, the recipe a simple but elegant one.

Rolling her eyes a little, Chloe shakes her head a little. "You make it sound like you want me to move in with you, Lucifer." She says with a bit of amusement, going back to eating her food and ignoring the Father comment altogether, like she normally does. "This is just for a few days until I figure out somewhere else to stay. I do appreciate it though. I couldn't even have gotten a hotel last night if I wanted. No ID, no cash, no cards.. way too late to go to bank.." She pinches the bridge of her nose after a moment. "I need to get Trixie some clothes, too.. call the station about my gun and badge.." She mumbles as she works through her list.

Reaching over, Lucifer puts his hand on Chloe's wrist, giving it a little squeeze. "One thing at a time." He reassures as he looks at her. "First to your bank, then perhaps the dreaded DMV if we must." He says with disgust at the thought of going to that office. "And truly, you can stay as long as you wish, Detective. Don't rush into something on my account. In fact, while you're at the DMV, why don't I have your car brought here. I don't suppose you might have accidentally left your keys in it?" He asks curiously as he finishes the last of his bacon, licking a bit of grease from a few of his fingers before he picks up his orange juice.

For a moment Chloe is transfixed by watching Lucifer do something so mundane as lick his fingers, but he manages to make even that look sinful. Blinking herself out of her slight daze, she takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "I don't even remember." She admits, not pulling away from his touch. She give him a soft smile. "Not going to mess up your next orgy if I'm still hanging around?" She challenges with a slight arch of her eyebrow and a slight smirk as she finishes her food.

"Detective! What a naughty little mind you have." Lucifer flirts with a grin as he settles back in his chair. "I haven't had a proper orgy in an age, I'll have you know." He says with a little smile. "In any case, my partners recently have just passed the time until we had another case anyway. Nothing that I can't easily give up." He reassures with a meaningful look.

"Ugh. Ew." Chloe says in response to thinking of him having an actual orgy. She shakes her head a little as she finishes her food, plus a piece of toast. "By the way, if Trixie is going to stay here, you need to make sure she can't find anything inappropriate." She says in a firm tone, though at least her daughter knows to stay away from the bar.

Smiling a little at the response he gets, Lucifer leans forward and reaches out to cup Chloe's chin, brushing some toast crumbs from the corner of her mouth with his thumb gently in a casual gesture before he sits back again to pick up his coffee. "I would hope she wouldn't go rummaging around in my drawers. That is the only place she might find something untoward." He notes as he looks at Chloe, almost wishing /she/ would go through his drawers. His detective does have an insatiable curiosity, maybe that will have piqued her interest.

Blushing a little at Lucifer's familiarity – which really he has earned at this point, but still – Chloe licks her lips a little before she picks up her coffee as well to hide behind it a little. "No, she wouldn't do that. She knows better." She says firmly as she looks across the table at Lucifer. "Good to know you keep your stuff contained though." She says with a little smile, finishing up her coffee before she glances at the time. "Ugh. There's at least an hour before anything opens." She says as she leans back in her chair, frustrated because as much as she doesn't want to deal with all the paperwork and running she has to do, at least it would keep her busy and stop her from thinking about the conversation with Lucifer this morning and the little kiss he gave her.

Leaning forward a little toward her, Lucifer sets his coffee aside. "Well then, Detective, whatever shall we do?" He asks with a bit of playful suggestiveness in his tone as he watches her, smirking a little while trying to look completely innocent.

Chloe can't help but giggle a little as she sees the look on his face. "You are ridiculous, Lucifer." She says as she shakes her head, but her tone is affectionate as she watches her partner. "I'm not sure if I said, but.. thank you for last night. And... I'm sorry if I interrupted anything with my call." She says as she looks into his eyes, kind of curious if he already had a Brittany or two lined up for the evening, or one of his other 'fans'.

Smiling softly as he watches Chloe laugh, Lucifer just shakes his head. "Nonsense. No need to thank me. You're my partner, my friend. You needed me, I came." He says as if that's the simplest thing in the world, which to him it is. "As for the timing of your call, I hadn't had any plans, no. I was about to head down to Lux when you called. Besides, your home was aflame, it wouldn't have mattered if I was in the middle of an Eiffel Tower." He teases her with a sly grin as he references something she asked him over a year ago.

Giggling a little again while she blushes, Chloe glances down at her orange juice as she recalls the memory. "I can't believe you remember that." She says as she looks back up at him, leaning toward him a little, resting her arms on her knees and clasping her hands together.

"Of course, Detective. How could I not? That was rather memorable, our first few days together." Lucifer points out with a little smile. "It's not often you ask questions after I make sexual comments, afterall." he points out with a little smirk as he looks at her.

Rolling her eyes a little, Chloe smiles as she looks at him. "Who knew, the Devil is sentimental." She says with a little smile as she looks at him. She's found out more about him in the last 24 hours than she has in the last year. Which is dangerous, because she's finding out many very attractive things about him, and it's difficult to remember why a relationship with him would never work.

"Are you finally coming around then, Detective? Believe that I am who I say I am?" Lucifer asks curiously since that's not the first time today she's referenced him being the Devil.

Chloe shakes her head a little as she finally gets up, patting his shoulder as she goes to walk by him. "Sorry, Lucifer. Still pretty sure you've got a few screws loose. But it's fun to play along sometimes." She says with a bit of amusement. She gasps when Lucifer moves more quickly than she would have thought possible, grabbing her around the waist. She flails a little as she gets pulled backward, falling into his lap with a yelp of surprised. "Lucifer, what are you doing?" She demands as she tries to sit up into a slightly better position.

Not willing to let her escape yet, Lucifer pulls her back to him and grins a little when she ends up in his lap. "Well, hello.." he says playfully as he looks at her. "I am keeping you from running away. This wasn't exactly what I intended, but can't say I mind." He notes as he looks her over, keeping his arm around her waist gently.

Normally she would jump out of his lap as soon as she could, but as exasperating as she thinks Lucifer is, Chloe has to admit that taking some comfort in his closeness is helping her today. So instead of hopping up, she leans back into his chest. "I wasn't running away." She says a little defensively. "I was just.. I mean.. I.." She stutters since she's not sure exactly where she was going, so she vaguely motions in the direction she had been walking.

Lucifer glances over his shoulder to see where she points. "I understand that you're stressed, Detective. But I don't think you would ever imbibe alcohol this early in the morning." He points out with amusement, enjoying her newfound display of her trust in him. He tightens his hold a little around her after she relaxes into him. "It's quite alright, you know. Running is your usual response when I make a comment you deem inappropriate. When you truly dislike a comment, you'll argue with me. When you find a comment unsettling or even enjoy it, you run away." He observes as he looks at her for a moment. "Which.. in this case.. means that maybe you weren't entirely telling the truth.." he says in a slightly confused tone as he looks at her.

Shaking her head for a moment, Chloe resists the urge to roll her eyes. Again. "You've clearly been paying attention to the wrong things in your sessions with Linda." She says with a little bit of exasperation. Besides, what he's saying can't possibly be true. She always responds to him the same way when he's being annoying. Except when she's in an already annoyed or bad mood. But that's really his fault for not picking up on that. "Oh, shoot.. I forgot, I need to call Trixie's school and let them know that yes, Trixie actually did have her homework burn up in a fire, along with everything else." She says with a little sigh as she starts to sit up and away from Lucifer so she can get her phone.

Reluctant to let her go just yet, Lucifer keeps his arm around her waist, temporarily keeping her in his lap at least. "Shouldn't Detective Douche do that when he drops her off?" He asks in surprise as he looks at Chloe. "Surely he wouldn't just tell your child to run along, after what she's been through?" He asks, having a pretty low opinion of Dan as a person, but that's mostly in relation to how he treats Chloe. He hasn't noticed him acting particularly neglectful to Beatrice yet, which is why he hasn't been as truly hateful as he could be. Not that he cares for the spawn. At least except because she's important to Chloe, which means he should at least be courteous toward the little cretin.

Turning to give Lucifer a 'let me go' type of look, Chloe shakes her head slightly. "I don't think he would either, but I would never forgive myself if he did, and Trixie's teachers gave her a hard time for not having her homework. I don't want her to be punished for something that's not her fault just because they don't believe a 9 year old." She reasons with him, waiting patiently rather than trying to force it. The few times she's gotten between Lucifer and whatever thing he was going to do, she knew that the only reason she could stop him was because he allowed it. There are a lot of things that still don't make sense to her about Lucifer, but his strength despite his lean frame, is not one of them.

Sighing a little and rolling his eyes this time – a habit he surely picked up from the Detective – Lucifer loosens his hold on her. "Alright. Fine. Up you get." He says as he leans forward and puts his hands on Chloe's waist to help her stand so she doesn't fall over, since his chairs are a bit low to the ground and she was sitting on his lap. Neither are particularly easy things to get up from. "Go ahead and make your call, make yourself feel better about your spawn." He says as he leans back in his chair and crosses his legs after she's standing once again.

Chloe squeaks a little in surprise as she's lifted so effortlessly, and it takes her a moment to recover from another show of Lucifer's strength. And, she admitted to herself, that was really hot. Avoiding looking at him, she instead goes to retrieve her phone, wandering out toward where the jacuzzi is as she talks to the school.

Watching her walk for a few moments, Lucifer sighs wistfully before he gathers their dishes onto the tray and carries it back to the kitchen, needing to do something to distract himself. He had never before pushed a woman or done anything without her consent. He never needed to, women came to him more than willing. However, he very much wished he could pin her to a wall and ravish her mouth with his. Among other things. He never would without her consent, but those are the Devil's desires. At least he feels today like he might be getting through to Chloe a little, that perhaps she's starting to look at him a little differently.

Much to Chloe's relief, it seems that Dan actually did talk to the school, so all she had to do was confirm what was going on. When she gets off the phone she turns back toward the penthouse, looking around for her partner. She notices the tray gone and assumes that he must be in the kitchen, so she walks to the hallway and then through the kitchen door. "There you are." She says with a little smile as she walks up behind him, impulsively laying a hand on his back as she peeks around him. Only to find him doing dishes, apron back on to protect his suit and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "Wow." She says before she giggles a little. "Sorry, it's just.. I have never once imagined you doing dishes." She explains, laughing a little more and putting a hand over her mouth.

Very narrowly avoiding leaning back into her touch, Lucifer glances at his Detective with a bemused expression when she starts laughing at him. "My maid only comes by once a week. If I wanted to cook for myself, I needed to learn to clean, as well. I abhor dirtiness." He admits with a little shake of his head.

"That explains a few things." Chloe says honestly as she looks up at him. He's always so neat, everything perfectly in place. She's wanted to run her hands through his hair so many times, partially just to feel it but mostly to mess it up. She wonders if he ever gets bedhead, or sex hair. His hair seemed fine this morning, she muses, which only makes her more jealous. Maybe he just uses too much product in his hair that it can't move. It doesn't look like that's the case. He doesn't smell like hair product either. And now she wants to touch his hair again.

Lucifer's eyebrows go up for a few moments. "Oh?" He prompts as he finishes cleaning the last of the dishes. Noticing that Chloe is staring at him and a little spaced out, he looks a little more concerned. "Detective?" He asks, tilting his head to the side. "Chloe?" He tries again before snapping his fingers in front of her face, which seems to bring her back to the present. "Blimey, where were you just now?" he asks curiously as he watches her.

"You'd never lie to me, right?" Chloe asks after recovering herself. "So, no matter how ridiculous a question I ask, you would tell me the truth, right?" She asks, remembering his earlier openness and hoping that he's still feeling as relaxed.

"Always the truth, Chloe." Lucifer reassures sincerely as he looks at her, not sure where this is going, but he removes the apron once again and sets it aside before he starts to roll down the sleeves of his shirt. "No matter the question. Though now I'm curious what burning question sent you so far away."

"Do you use some like, fancy, extra strength hair product or something?" Chloe asks bluntly as she looks at him, mentally smirking at the confused look on his face. "You just said you were a neat freak, and I thought.. you hair is always neat. I don't think I've ever seen it out of place. Not even first thing this morning, which makes me a little jealous. I mean, do you get sex hair?" Not that she wants to think of other women with their claws in his hair. "That is.. I mean.. if I ran my hand through it, would it actually still stay put?" She asks, halfway raising her hand for a moment before realizing what she's doing and lowering it again.

By some miracle Lucifer manages not to laugh at Chloe's question. Of all the things he thought she would ask him, that is not even on the radar. Of course, the way she was staring at him, maybe this is a window into her own desires. "I don't use any product at all." He reassures before he leans down toward her. "But I know you, Detective. You require proof, to find things out for yourself." he says with a small smirk as he looks into her eyes. "So go ahead. Find out for yourself. It's alright. I /adore/ it when women play with my hair." Letting that little tidbit slip, Lucifer hopes that it might make her feel a little more comfortable with doing it. It's the truth, afterall. He does love feeling his lover's hand slide through his hair. It's one of the reasons he doesn't keep it any shorter.

Watching Lucifer uncertainly for a moment, Chloe tries to figure out if this is some trick or game of his. Looking into his eyes, she sees nothing but sincerity there and a bit of a challenge. He stays still, bent over closer to her level watching her eyes and even arching one of his eyebrows silently in challenge. Huffing a little, Chloe finally lifts her hand, and starting near his temple she drags her nails lightly against his scalp and fingers through the hair above his ears, then follows the curve of his head down to the back of his neck. She strokes her fingers through the soft strands on the back of his head, delighted as she feels nothing but natural, clean hair, and a slight wave to his hair that she never noticed before.

Closing his eyes slightly in bliss, Lucifer lets out a little sigh when his Detective toys with his hair. Now if only she would be doing that while he devoured her lips, it would be perfection. Still, he wasn't lying when he said he enjoyed this immensely, goosebumps even rising near the base of his neck and across his shoulders. "Mmm. Detective. How long have you wanted to do this?" He asks in a soft voice which is a bit deeper than he meant, his eyes opening to look into hers again.

Certain sounds should not come from certain people. And that little sound Lucifer just made was positively sinful, waking up her body in ways that she does not need it to be right now. Still, she can't help but take advantage of this opportunity, still combing her fingers through his hair and massaging the back of his head a little. "Since Father Frank, maybe a little before. When I came over that night, after he died.. I know you were more affected than you let me see. All I wanted was to hug you, and stroke your hair like this. I could tell you didn't want that though. At least not without it being sexual." She smirks a little as she looks at him. "You dealt with it alone. You always deal with everything alone, Lucifer. Even though I'm right here. I'm your friend, and your partner... If you ever want me to consider more, then.. you need to start trusting me. Like today. I've seen more of you and learned more about you today than I have in the past year." She says quietly as she watches him, unable to hold back when she's looking into his big, puppy eyes that are so honest and sincere and so very close to her. "I like this. You're still you. There's no way to hide your... Luciferness." She says with a little smirk, motioning to him vaguely with her free hand, before she lifts it to rest it against his stubbled cheek gently. "I like getting a chance to see what's on the other side of that wall you built to protect yourself." She says softly, thumb stroking his cheek lightly. It's not sexual, but it is intimate, and she's starting to enjoy these little moments. If he continued to be like this, then maybe staying with him wouldn't be so bad.

"Detective.." Lucifer says in a soft tone, those three syllables somehow able to convey so much. His confusion, hope, fear, vulnerability, and inexperience. Rather than kissing her which is what he really wants to do, instead he puts his arms around her waist and pulls her against him in a gentle hug. No innuendos, no trying to cop a feel, and although it's clearly still a little awkward for him, it's the first hug he's initiated. "I shall endeavor to give you what you desire, Chloe. It's.. difficult for me. In my family, if you show vulnerability, you get torn apart, and Hell was much the same. There was always a demon or two that wanted to test me, that I had to put down. Maze was always the one closest to me, the one I could trust the most. But even she... would just laugh at me, then probably tear me a new one or try to slap me silly if she knew what we shared in the last 24 hours." He says quietly, finding it slightly easier to talk when he's not staring into her beautiful blue eyes.

The hug surprises her a little, since Lucifer seems to abhor them in general, or at least he's never sure how to handle them. Chloe gently slides her free hand around his neck, her hand in his hair becoming more soothing now. "I know, Lucifer. That's why this.. right here.. means so much to me." She says quietly with a little smile, giving him a little squeeze, lowering her head to his shoulder for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a moment to enjoy this.

Likewise, Lucifer takes a moment to savor the feeling of Chloe against him, willingly, trustingly. He takes a deep breath as he holds her, before he slowly pulls away from her, smiling a little, but obviously feeling a little awkward. "Yes. Well. We've got a busy day ahead of us, and I believe if we leave now we should arrive at the DMV just in time for it to open." he says before moving away from her, picking up his jacket from where it lays and slipping into it. "Shall we, Detective?" he asks in his usual brusque manner, running a hand through his hair to smooth it down a little.

At least that answers her question about whether or not his hair would get messed up. Chloe smiles a little as she looks at him and she nods. "I need to go to the bank first. And hopefully I can talk to them without ID." She says with a little shake of her head, making no comment about the change in attitude, knowing that she needs to let Lucifer back off and regroup rather than pushing him. She knows him pretty well by now, and if she wants to get him to open up, she needs to let him do it in his own time. Just the fact that he's willing to, that he possibly wants to open up to her more, is actually a big step and gives her hope that maybe he is different, and just maybe she could take a real chance with him.

"Right. Just let me know which bank, Detective. And off we go." Lucifer says as walks out of the kitchen to get his keys, waiting for her by the elevator, tapping the button and then motioning her inside first once the doors are opened.

Smiling a little with a small shake of her head, Chloe goes into the elevator, leaning back against the wall. "Well, if I have to be driven around, at least you have a nice car." She jokes casually as she glances over at him, glad that she put her hair back into a braid. At least the wind won't mess it up. As an afterthought, she gives him the name of her bank, resigning herself to a day of her partner making inappropriate comments and being slightly more obnoxious than he normally is as he tries to get his emotional equilibrium back.


	4. Chapter 4

**First of all, thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews! The response to the last chapter was overwhelming. So thank you all for that. This is another smaller chapter for you. Bit more fluff, but don't worry, there's more tension to come. ;) And a few days ago I did write a Devilish Lucifer scene. And Mum will make an appearance as well! I hope you all enjoy this, thank you for reading! And as always, please let me know what you think!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.**

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The day is long and trying for Chloe's nerves. One place leads to another, but at least her wait at the DMV lets her make some other phone calls to the precinct and insurance company to name a few. Lucifer is true to his word and retrieves her car back to Lux while she's at the DMV even though she doesn't exactly know how and Lucifer sort of dodges the question which means it's either a little shady or he doesn't want to lie to her. There are many phone calls, many stops, most of which leave Lucifer waiting with surprising patience in the car, tapping away at his phone.

For the most part, Chloe doesn't ask what he finds so interesting, for all she knows it's porn. Only when she asks him to go to a retail store so she can get some more clothes does he seem interested at all. But when she names a place, Lucifer just shakes his head and waves his hand dismissively.

"Absolutely not! If we have to replace your entire wardrobe, surely we can do a little something better than that." Lucifer holds up his hand before Chloe can object. "I'm not judging your sense of style, Detective. Most days you look ravishing." He reassures with a little smile as he looks her over appraisingly. "But surely if you have to replace your clothes, you could go for something of a little more quality. I believe Maze got you enough clothes for a few days, and you seem to be taking to them rather well." He says as he considers it for a few moments. "I would suggest going to the same stores that she got your clothes from, but I'm fairly sure the price tags alone would make your head explode, and I rather like it the way it is." he says with a little smirk.

"No. Lucifer, no. I can buy my own clothes just fine. The few outfits Maze got are very nice. They're even ones I might have chosen for myself. But I can tell that they're way out of my price range. And I can't let you spend that kind of money on me, Lucifer." Chloe says with a firm shake of her head as she looks at her partner. He may be rich as all get out, but she can't take advantage of that.

Rolling his eyes a little, Lucifer sighs in exasperation. "Detective, I have plenty of money. It would take significant effort for me to use it all on my own. Even with Maze's help." He insists as he watches her, before he sighs a little. "I want to do this for you." He insists in a firm tone. "You have just lost everything, and while you will get some insurance money it surely won't be able to cover everything. Use the money you would have spent on your own clothes on a new home, or your spawn." He insists as he watches her, knowing that one sure way to get the Detective to let him help her is to bring up Trixie's needs. She would always put her child first. Though he's still hoping he can convince her to stay with him for a while.

It's a difficult thing, knowing you're being manipulated but also being able to see the truth in the manipulation. Chloe sighs a little before she closes her eyes and shakes here had a little. She knows what her decision will be even though she fights against making it and finally drops her chin to her chest, opening her eyes and throwing her arms up in exasperation. "FINE! Fine. But have Maze do the shopping. Not you." She says firmly as she points at her partner. "She.. knows.. apparently.. what I like to wear. And you would probably try to put me in something... more like.. you." She vaguely motions to his own clothing with a shake of her head. "And I'm not even sure I'm comfortable with the underwear Maze bought me, I am not having you shopping for that stuff. I don't need you looking at me wondering just what pair I'm wearing today." She points out in a firm tone as she looks at him.

"Oh.. well, Detective. I hadn't quite thought of buying your knickers, but.. now I am curious what Maze bought you.." Lucifer muses in an intrigued tone, looking her over slowly. "You are right, of course. If I were to buy such things for you, I certainly would be wondering what you were wearing on any given day. Not sure I could help m'self." He says thoughtfully, grinning more broadly. "Tell me, Detective, what exactly has you displeased about Maze's current selections?" He asks as he looks her over. "Is it silk? Oh, a thong?" He asks, eyes dropping to her hips. "Lace?" He asks, looking at Chloe's face for any indication that his guesses might be more on the money. When he sees her blush, his eyebrows go up. "Ohhh.. lace it is.. color me intrigued, Detective." He considers for a few moments, leaning slightly over the console toward her. "Is it just the sexiness of it that bothers you, or is it actually uncomfortable?" He asks, seeming genuinely concerned and curious.

"Lucifer." Chloe hisses in a scolding tone as she looks at him, trying her best to glare at him, even if she is blushing and getting a little flustered by the casual discussion of the underwear Maze bought her. "We.. are not.. having a conversation about my underwear." She says with a firm shake of her head.

"My, my, Detective. So sensitive. You are the one who started this topic of conversation. The least you could do is answer my very simple question. I simply want to know the reason why you dislike what Maze bought you. Then I can properly tell her what not to get you." Lucifer points out logically, his face free of any lecherous grins, actually being the picture of innocence as he looks at her.

It frustrates Chloe to admit that once again, Lucifer is right. She led the conversation in this direction and she can't get mad at him for reacting. Tilting her head back a little to look at the sky, she is glad that they're just sitting in a relatively empty parking lot. Finally, she looks back at Lucifer, who is somehow still maintaining his innocent facade. "It's not.. uncomfortable." She finally says as she looks at him, pressing her lips together for a moment and noticing the way Lucifer's eyes flicker down to them before back to her eyes. "I guess.. I'm just not.. used to the style. It just makes me a little self-conscious. Like... like everyone will /know/. Being a female detective puts me under a lot of scrutiny, Lucifer. I'm used to being examined." She explains as she looks at him, forcing herself to meet his eyes.

Lucifer gently takes her hand in his and gives it a light squeeze. "I assure you, Detective. No one instinctively knows what you're wearing under all that. And how could they? It's not like you wear anything that is ever revealing enough to show it off. Much to my disappointment." he finally smiles a little as he watches her, though it's less lecherous, more affectionate. "Even your male counterparts wouldn't be able to tell. If I can't tell, surely none of them can. And believe me, I am looking." he says with slightly more flirty smirk as he looks her over slowly again. "The only true question is.. Does wearing it make you feel good about yourself? Do you like it?" He asks curiously, brushing his thumb across her knuckles slowly.

Trying to actually pay attention to what Lucifer's saying and not brush it off as more ridiculousness, Chloe watches him for a few moments. "Well.. I don't know." She finally admits in a quieter tone, a little self-conscious. "It's really comfortable." She admits reluctantly with a small nod of her head, shifting a little in her seat. "I've never thought about how underwear makes me feel. It's just.. something you wear." She admits with a little shrug, looking down at where her hand is resting in Lucifer's.

"Oh, Detective.." Lucifer murmurs softly as he looks at Chloe. "You really need to learn about the nicer things. Have more confidence in yourself as a woman." He says gently as he watches her. "And as much as I would like to assist you with this, I know you wouldn't be comfortable with that. Instead, next time you change, or get dressed, take a moment. Put on a set of those lacy under clothes and take a moment to look at yourself in a mirror. Look at the color, the fit. If it makes you feel beautiful, or sexy, that will give you more confidence even if no one else can see it. Not that you have problems in the confidence department. Just trust me on this, Detective. Worse case scenario, you look at yourself and see nothing different at all." He shrugs slightly but smiles, eyes moving over Chloe's face as he admires her.

"That's.. that's actually not a horrible idea. You're always surprising me, Lucifer." Chloe says with a little smile as she looks at him, finding herself leaning toward him a little. Taking a bit of a chance, she lifts her free hand and trails her fingertips over his jaw gently. She notices the way he goes almost completely still, his face uncertain but he neither moves toward or away from her. She smiles a little as she looks into her eyes, sliding her palm against his jaw to cup his cheek gently. "Thank you, Lucifer." She says quietly, hesitating before she leans in and gives him a tender kiss.

Afraid to move lest he scare his Detective away, Lucifer freezes when Chloe touches his face. That was unexpected. Maybe all the talk about lacy underwear actually did affect his partner somewhat. With her hand against his cheek, he very narrowly avoids tilting his head into her hand, still not sure if he might scare her off with a sudden movement. When her lips touch his, Lucifer is shocked, but he lets his eyes close as he slowly returns the kiss, savoring the feel of her lips on his. Their first kiss he always imagined would be hard, passionate, hungry. The sexual tension between them has always been almost electric. This, this feeling is completely new to their relationship and to Lucifer as well. When the kiss ends, he opens his eyes slowly and looks at Chloe in confusion. "Detective?" He asks softly in a hesitant tone.

For a moment after the kiss, Chloe lets her hand rest on Lucifer's cheek before she slides it away. "Don't overthink it, Lucifer." She replies with a smile before she leans back in her seat, taking a deep breath and licking her lower lip for a moment. "So, um.. we only have a few more stops." She says as she recovers herself, pulling her hand out of his slowly.

"Yes.. Very well." Lucifer says in a soft tone as he sits back in his seat as well, adjusting his jacket a little before he starts the car, mentally skipping over the stops that they were going to make for the clothing, before he starts off to their next destination. He stays quiet as he tries to figure out what prompted Chloe to kiss him and what exactly it means. Was it just gratitude, or was she finally starting to give in to her desires? Either way, every time she touched him, her kiss, it was all intoxicating in a way that even the strongest alcohol wasn't.

There was nothing about the kiss that Chloe regretted. In fact, she couldn't help but smile a little, turning her head away from Lucifer so he wouldn't see it. It was perfect actually. She always thought that kissing Lucifer would be a tug of war, that he would be overwhelming and demanding. She knew he would have a lot of skill, he had kissed probably hundreds or more women. Who knew how many. What she didn't expect was just how warm and soft his lips would be, or the almost tentative way he kissed her, like he was afraid she would break if he pushed too much. It definitely gave her the warm and fuzzies inside and made her want to kiss him more. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was like heroin. Very habit forming.


	5. Chapter 5

**First off, Season 4 trailers, people! Brings a whole new meaning to 'teaser'. Oh my gosh, I cannot wait!**

**Ok, now that that's out of the way.. Thank you so much for your reviews! I am honestly floored by them, and how much you guys like this. I thought the last chapter was kind of simple, so I'm glad you enjoy it so much. I have to admit, of all the characters I've written, Lucifer is the most unique and the most FUN. Even when he's being all cute and vulnerable. And I know this is a lot of fluff, but I really love exploring how this relationship could form and sort of bloom if Chloe gave it half a chance. But Trixie, Dan, Amenediel and even Mum make appearances later, don't worry!**** I know, this one is a little longer, my chapters seem to be alternating, but I didn't think this could be split up.**** I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's a little bit more fun, I think. Please let me know what you guys think! I really rely on your reviews to know whether you guys like this or not, or if I'm going in the right direction with the story, so please let me know!**

**P.S. I decided to post this a day earlier than I've been planning, because you guys are just that awesome and this is a monster chapter. So thank you!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome, and encouraged!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.**

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It takes pretty much all morning and into the afternoon to finish the rest of Chloe's errands, with only a little stop for lunch at a place that Chloe recommended. "Well, I don't know how you found that delightful little burger spot, but sometimes you can't go wrong with a burger, eh?" He asks as they head up the elevator toward his penthouse, having a few bags and such that Lucifer insisted on carrying for Chloe.

"You can never go wrong with a burger." Chloe says with a little laugh as she looks at her partner. After the kiss, the rest of the afternoon had gone by pretty smoothly and after a silent drive to their next destination, they had fallen back into conversation easily.

"Yes, perhaps not." Lucifer says with a little chuckle and a smile as he looks at Chloe, stepping out with the bags when the elevator opens to his penthouse. "I'll put these in the guest bedroom for you." He offers as he walks back in that direction. "You have a bit of time before you have to pick up the spawn, if I recall." He calls back as he puts the bags down in the corner of the room and then comes back out, pulling the sides of his jacket together though not buttoning them. "What would you like to do?" He asks as he goes to his bar, pouring himself a drink and sipping it as he watches the Detective move around his flat.

Chloe thinks about it as she looks around, then she slowly walks over to the piano. "Would you play something for me, Lucifer?" She asks as she runs her fingers over the cover to the keys, sitting down slowly on the bench before she looks back at him.

Surprised but not about to object to a chance to show off, Lucifer smiles a little and nods. "Of course, Detective. Always glad to have an audience. Is there anything in particular you'd like to hear?" He asks as he moves over to sit down next to her, slowly lifting the cover to the keys, running his fingers lightly across them without making a sound.

"I don't know. Whatever comes to mind. I like watching you play." Chloe confesses, though she's only gotten to see and hear him play a few times.

Lucifer glances at her for a few moments and then he nods. "Mmm. Many things come to mind, Detective. Not very helpful." He accuses with a little bit of amusement, before his fingers slowly start to move across the keys. He can't help but grin a little as he starts to play 'Take Me to Church', shifting a little closer to Chloe to put him a bit closer to the center of the keys and so he can reach the pedals better, tapping his foot a little to beat only he can hear.

Tilting her head a little since it sounds a little familiar but she can't place it, Chloe finally giggles a little as she finally recognizes it, shaking her head for a few moments. She hums a little along with his song, tapping her foot a little as well after the first minute or so. She watches his hands move over the keys with a little smile, tilting her head lightly to rest it against his shoulder for a few moments, not wanting to disturb his playing but wanting to show her appreciation.

Glancing over at Chloe with an arched eyebrow when she starts humming, Lucifer grins as he turns back to the piano, pleased that it's a song she knows, but also enjoys. The song ends rather abruptly and he smiles a little as he looks at her. "Very good, Detective. Didn't take you long to pick that on up." He says in a pleased tone, thinking about it for a few moments. "Would you like to hear something else?" He asks, before he grins broadly. "Maybe something a little more your style?" He asks as he looks down at his keys and considers it.

"I actually really like that song. I think it's kind of beautiful. I saw a really gorgeous ballet dance set to it once." Chloe says with a small nod of her head. "I'm more surprised that you know it. It doesn't really seem like your type of music."

"When it comes to music, there's very little I don't like, Detective. I suppose you could say it's one of the few true passions I have." He says as he strokes the keys, playing random chords for a moment before another song comes to mind. "Please apologize for any roughness to this one." He says, clearing his throat a little as he starts to play 'Eternal Flame', adding his voice to the mix as he starts to sing, looking over at Chloe meaningfully when he sings the 'Say my name, sun shines through the rain' verse before he returns his attention to the piano.

Chloe can't help but giggle a little as she hears the opening bars to the song, then she sobers a little as Lucifer starts singing. She's only heard him sing once before. She had forgotten what a beautiful voice he has. She blushes a little when he watches her, and she leans her head over on his shoulder lightly again as she listens to the rest of the song. "I really like that song." She admits in a quiet tone, though now she thinks she likes it even more when he sings it.

Glancing down at Chloe on his shoulder, Lucifer smiles a little and he nods. "I know. I've seen your playlist." He says with a little bit of amusement before he takes a deep breath. "I quite like it as well, actually." He muses as he thinks about some of the lyrics, lightly running his fingers over the keys slowly. "Come now, Detective. We should probably go and pick up your spawn." He notes after checking his watch, but not willing to dislodge her from his shoulder just yet.

Though she is looking forward to seeing her daughter again, a small part of her wishes she had just a little more time. "Yeah, you're right." She says with a small nod, slowly slowly standing up and smiling a little as she looks at him. "We'll have to take my car if you're driving. You really need a car with more than two seats."

"I do have one, Detective." Lucifer says with a small shrug. "I just prefer my Corvette. But then, you've never been to my private parking, have you?" He asks thoughtfully before he motions toward the elevator. "Come on, then." He says as he leads her back into the elevator, taking a small ring of keys out of his pocket, flipping to one and inserting it into the elevator panel to turn it, pressing the 'down' button before he stands back and watches Chloe.

Of course he would have different cars. It was kind of silly for Chloe to think otherwise, especially with the kind of money that Lucifer has. "I guess I never thought about where you kept your car." She admits with a small shrug. "Seems kind of silly now, of course you would have a garage. No way you would leave your car out on the street. Way too tempting for a thief." She isn't necessarily a car enthusiast, but she knows nice cars when she sees them, and she has to admit, she's always liked Lucifer's Corvette.

Lucifer nods a little as he looks over at Chloe. "Quite right. I'm hardly going to leave my property for someone else to steal." He scoffs, looking at the doors as they open into the garage level, and he removes his keys before he motions. "After you, Detective." He offers. There's 3 or 4 cars in the garage, as well as Chloe's car. "The mustang, I think." He decides, having his Corvette, a black 1966 Mustang convertible, a truck that looks out of place and belongs to Maze, as well as a black SUV that seems odd as well.

Chloe steps out of the elevator, glancing at the cars for a moment. "I can really tell which ones are yours." She says as she moves over toward the mustang, glancing to make sure it at least has seat belts."Nice." She says with a small nod as she looks the car over for a few moments before she gets in, not surprised to find the doors unlocked. Then again, it's in a parking garage, and the top is down. She could just hop over the door if she really wanted to.

Pleased and maybe preening a little, Lucifer nods as he gets into the car with Chloe, starting his car before driving out of the garage. "I'm glad you approve, Detective. I do appreciate the classics." he says with a grin, driving easily toward Trixie's school, hoping that they can avoid some of the more annoying traffic.

The ride to the school is relatively silent. Chloe is lost in her own thoughts and Lucifer doesn't want to disturb her. They do end up making relatively good time, even if 'good time' means that they still end up a little bit late. Only by a few minutes, nothing that would be extremely unusual, given Chloe and Dan's jobs.

Parking next to the sidewalk, Lucifer turns and scans the remaining children for Trixie, frowning a little in concern when he doesn't immediately detect the little girl.

Chloe glances over at Lucifer and mentally smiles as she sees the concerned look on his face. Not that she would ever call him out on it. That's the fastest way to get him to change his behavior is to mention something he's uncomfortable with. "Ever since Trixie got kidnapped, we have to go inside and get her. At least for now, until I don't panic every time I don't see her in a crowd.." She says with a small, sheepish shrug as she looks at her partner. "I'll be right back." She reassures, patting his forearm lightly before she gets out of the car, braid swinging a little as she walks into the school.

Surprised that the Detective seemed to be reading his mind, Lucifer watches her curiously for a moment before he nods. "Very well. I'll stay here, you know I dislike children in general." He says as he fidgets with one of his cuffs, as if they dared to be anything but perfect.

Only being gone for a few minutes, Chloe comes out without her child, looking a little angry as she gets back into the Mustang and slams the door harder than necessary. Before Lucifer can even ask, she explains, staring straight ahead. "Dan picked her up already. He picked her up and didn't even bother to send me a freakin' text about it!" She holds up her phone in demonstration as if the blank screen would prove that he hadn't called or texted her. Even though they were together practically the whole day and Lucifer would have known if Dan called.

"Look on the bright side, Detective. At least she's safe, and you can have another night to relax." Lucifer offers with a little grin as he looks at her, having several ideas of ways he can get her to relax. Maybe he'll even convince her to go down to Lux with him for a drink and maybe a dance. Now there's a happy thought. He's never seen the Detective truly let go and enjoy herself.

Rolling he eyes a little for a few moments, Chloe puts her hand over her eyes and sighs. "Not the point, Lucifer. I wanted to see Trixie tonight, but now I can't because she's expecting to spend the night with her dad and I won't be the bad guy, going in there to take her away from her time with her dad." She says with a bit of frustration. "The point is, he didn't communicate, Lucifer. He never does. Never tells me if he's going to be late picking Trixie up, waits until the last minute before telling me he can't make it, or that plans have changed. Even now, knowing that we lost everything, that nothing is stable right now, he doesn't have the decency to pick up the freaking phone and tell me he's picking up our daughter!" She raises her voice a little in frustration, throwing her hands up in the air before tilting her head back for a moment, eyes closed and sighing.

Listening to her little rant, Lucifer again wonders why Chloe ever stayed with Detective Douche long enough to have an 8 year old daughter. He seriously wonders why they got together in the first place. Perhaps they were different then. He mentally puts the timeline together and realizes that Chloe would have still been a beat cop when they got together. Idly, he wonders if their problems started after Chloe was promoted. He could certainly see the Douche being insecure enough to be threatened by the success of his wife. Not that he is even half the detective that Chloe is, in the first place.

Reaching over, Lucifer takes one of Chloe's hands in his to offer her some comfort, at least having gotten somewhat more comfortable with this, when it comes to Chloe at least. "You should be telling this to Detective Douche, not me." He says as he looks at her, "Though, I am happy to listen to any of your little rants, Detective. They're quite a fascinating insight into how your utterly confusing mind works." He says with a little smirk, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Would you like to rant and drive or wait until we return to Lux?" He asks curiously, releasing her hand and starting up his car again as he waits for her answer.

Glancing down at Lucifer's hand on hers, Chloe looks back at her partner for a moment before she nods a little. "You're right. Go ahead and drive." She says as she pulls out her phone, smiling a little despite herself before she hits the speed dial on her phone and puts it up to her ear. "It's me." Chloe says when he picks up, but doesn't give him a chance to say anything else. "What the Hell, Dan. If you're going to pick up Trixie, you at least need to send me text. It takes two minutes. Lucifer and I drove all the way over here to get her, and she wasn't even here! You cannot just take her like that, without telling me."

Thanks to Lucifer's Angelic hearing, he can hear the other side of the conversation as well as he starts back toward Lux.

"C'mon, Chloe. You bust my balls for not showing up on time, and now for being there to pick her up?" Dan asks in exasperation. "You said you wanted Trixie to stay with me tonight, too." He reminds her, his tone almost holding a 'Haha. Got you there,' type of tone.

"I said maybe, Dan. /Maybe/ I was going to ask you to keep Trixie tonight, too." Chloe says in frustration, wishing she could reach through the phone and throttle Dan "Either way, you could have at least let me know you had her picked up. Lucifer and I basically rushed around trying to get stuff done in time." She points out, just getting more angry by the minute.

"Wait. You spend the whole day with /Lucifer/?" Dan asks, now getting a little frustrated and annoyed too. "You seriously don't get that he's trying to take advantage of you, of this situation?" He nearly demands.

This was not what Chloe wanted, on top of everything else right now. Chloe glances sideways at Lucifer who seems to be wholly occupied with driving, considering everything from the last 24 hours before she replies. "You know what, Dan? Actually, he's not. He's being a friend. He offered me a place to stay because it's not like I had any money for a hotel room anyway. He's taken his whole day driving me around town, because it's not like I have my driver's license right now either. He has helped me so much today, and he hasn't asked for a single thing in return. Everything he's done since last night has been to assist me, or help me to feel better." Well, almost, there was that one kiss and a few other things, but overall it balances out, Chloe decides. "You're so quick to badmouth Lucifer, maybe you should look at yourself in the mirror. You haven't checked up on me /once/. Not to see how I was doing, not to see if there was anything you could do for me. You looked after Trixie, which is your parental duty anyway, and you picked her up from school. Probably just dropped her with a sitter, then went back to work. An even that you screwed up by not picking up your freaking phone." Her voice is rising now as she gets more and more frustrated and angry. "And you know what, that's been the problem for so long, I can't remember when it wasn't. Work is more important to you. Communication is non-existant. So yeah, how about before you go badmouthing my friend, and my partner – who, by the way, is twice the man you are right now – you think really hard about your own actions for once." Chloe finishes, taking a few deep breaths. "You know what, I can't talk to you right now. I'll pick up Trixie tomorrow after school." She says before she just hangs up the phone, narrowly keeping herself from throwing it away.

"My, my, Detective! Well done!" Lucifer says cheerfully with a big grin as he glances at Chloe. "I had no idea you thought so highly of me. Though it's about time you noticed some of my winning qualities. And truly, today has been my pleasure, Detective." He reassures, still, grinning a little. His posture is relaxed as he navigates through traffic, though inside he feels strangely fluttery. He's never heard Chloe say so many nice things about him. It's also not often he has heard Chloe dress-down someone so thoroughly. Lucifer certainly agrees with a great deal of the things she said. Running a woman around town for an entire day without even taking her to bed? That's something that Lucifer just doesn't do. As ever, the Detective is proving to be an exception to the rule. And what's more, he finds himself happy to do it. It gives him a bit of a rush, akin to when Chloe drunkenly came to him that one evening and he turned her down.

Looking over at Lucifer with a sigh of exasperation, Chloe shakes her head and smiles a little. The more glimpses she gets behind the mask Lucifer constantly projects, the more she finds him amusing rather than exasperating and annoying. As much as she still may want to. "It's the truth." She points out as she looks at him. "You've been amazing today. And of course I think highly of you, Lucifer. You're a good friend. And you know what, I've learned a lot about you today, and I think that's really great." She says honestly as she looks at the road in front of them for a moment, then glances at her partner again. "Maybe.. if you think you can contain yourself, we can hang out more often, you know?" She says slowly, pretty much regretting it as soon as she says it because she's sure Lucifer will bring it somewhere inappropriate.

Glancing at Chloe for a moment before he pulls into the alley and then into his garage, Lucifer parks and turns off the car before he turns to Chloe to reply. "I'd be quite pleased to spend some non-work time together, Detective." He says with a little smile before he says, "And speaking of, tonight is the perfect night to start! Since we have accomplished all your tasks for the day, and you no longer have to care for the spawn, perhaps you should take a bit of time to relax. Come to Lux with me tonight, have a drink, dance. I promise I won't let you drink too much." He offers with his best charming smile as he turns to look at the woman next to him.

Chloe shifts to look at Lucifer for a few moments, actually taking his invitation seriously. She has no doubt that she would be safe in Lux, especially as a guest of Lucifer Morningstar himself. And it would be nice to have a normal night for once since she didn't have to worry about work or Trixie. "Alright." She finally says with a little nod of her head and a little smile. "But just remember, Lucifer. I'm coming back to your place afterward. Which means you can't pick up anyone, because I'm not going to hide in the guest bedroom all night." She reminds him, tilting her head to the side. "Think you can handle that?"

Intrigued by her acceptance, Lucifer grins as he glances her over. "Oh. I very much look forward to it, Detective." He then looks almost hurt as he looks at Chloe. "Why would I wish to bring anyone back when you're spending the night with me again?" He asks, that coming out a little more suggestive than how he meant it. Of course, 90% of what he says sounds suggestive, whether he wants it to or not. "I give you my word, Chloe. The only woman returning with me to my penthouse tonight will be you." He reassures seriously before he gets out of the car, walking around to the back and waiting for her to join him. He fully intends to spend the evening showing the Detective a good time, not merely abandoning her. Afterall, someone truly /could/ try and take advantage of his Detective.

Getting out to stand in front of Lucifer behind the car, Chloe smiles a little as she watches him. "You realize that if I stay longer with you, it's going to cramp your style." She points out as she looks at him, tilting her head with a little bit of amusement. "What will people think if the same girl starts going back with you night after night?" She teases, grinning a little as she looks at him.

Lucifer glances her over with a brief arch of an eyebrow, clearly having some lascivious thoughts. He steps a little closer into Chloe's personal space, looking down into her eyes. "Mmm. Well. Perhaps it merely takes the right woman to tame the Devil." He purrs seductively as he looks at her, lips pursing ever so slightly as he looks at her. "If I abstained long enough, would you finally believe me?" he asks, leaning down closer to her a bit.

While Chloe cannot deny that Lucifer is being incredibly sexy at the moment, she has had a lot of practice ignoring the heated looks he gives her. "Cute, Lucifer." She pats his chest gently. "I'd give it three days before you're banging a Brittany." She says with a slight smirk as she looks at him.

"Is that a challenge, Detective?" Lucifer asks, not deterred in the slightest. "Care to make a little wager?" He asks, sliding his hands into his pockets and giving a little sway of his hips as he shifts his stance slightly.

Since she's confident, and probably a little overconfident, about her assessment, Chloe crosses her arms over her chest. "What sort of wager?" She asks skeptically as she looks at him, not sure that he'll make a bet that's fair to her, as far as the results.

Excited now, Lucifer grins as he watches his partner. "I will happily abstain for three more days. Since I think yesterday should count. And that includes abstaining from you, Detective. I will be the perfect gentleman. Oh, I'll even give you an advantage. You share my bed as you did last night, for three more nights. I will lose my bet, if we wake in the morning with my hands in any.. inappropriate places." He says as he looks Chloe over a little, admiring her before he draws his attention back to her face, becoming a little more serious. "If I win -" He holds up a finger and amends that. "Nay, /when/ I win, you will go on a proper, serious date with me, Detective. And not just indulging me, you will treat me like any potential suitor." He says seriously as he watches her.

Eyebrows going up in surprise, Chloe has to stop and rewind in her head what he wants if he wins the bet. A date? A serious date? He could have asked for anything, for sex or a strip tease, or anything like that. But he chooses a date? That throws her off a little bit, tightening her arms across her chest for a moment. "And /when/ you lose?" She asks as she finally gets control of herself again.

Looking up and over Chloe's head for a moment, Lucifer considers and then he grins before he looks down at Chloe. "If I lose, then I will give up any.. amorous advances toward you completely." He offers as he looks at her. "We will be partners and friends, but I will never again try to seduce you or get you into my bed." He offers seriously, tilting his head up and looking down at her, trying to appear a little more aloof. He can't help but add, "Of course, if you ever decided to seduce me, I certainly wouldn't say no."

Pursing her lips slightly to try and keep from smiling, Chloe tilts her head. She's not sure she believes that Lucifer would stop his flirting cold turkey, but she's kind of intrigued. And with stakes like those, she might have to play a little dirty. Of course, it means that she also has to share a bed with him for three nights. But one night wasn't so bad, and they didn't have the bet, then. "Alright." She decides after a moment, still sounding a bit amused. "Ok.. So.. tonight, tomorrow, and the next night." she says with a nod of her head, before she smiles a little. "I guess we'll see just how much of a man of a word you are, Lucifer." She says, grinning a little as she holds her hand out to him.

"Well.. All good deals are sealed with a kiss.. " He leans toward her a little, before he sighs slightly when their faces are closer together, "Unfortunately, I've just agreed to abstain.. pity." Lucifer muses before he straightnes back up with a smirk, looking Chloe over again. "One caveat." he says as he holds up a finger. "If /you/ kiss /me/ first, then it renders the bet void. Agreed? Should be rather easy for you, hm?" he asks with a little smirk as he looks at her.

Well, that's easy enough. "Agreed." Chloe says, wiggling the hand she's still holding out to him, and smirking a little when he takes it, giving it a firm shake.

Lucifer smirks as he shakes Chloe's hand. "Well, game on, Detective." He says with a little grin, releasing her hand after a moment. No matter how much he wants to hold onto it, he has a bet to win, and a point to prove. Tonight will be difficult with the drinking and dancing, but in the next few days the child should be around, which will of course dampen any amorous feelings. And he's never been one to cuddle much in bed, much less paw his partners in his sleep. He'll prove to his Detective that while he may flirt, he's perfectly capable of controlling his own desires and should be taken a little more seriously in his declaration of affections.

Smirking a little herself, Chloe nods a little. "I hope Maze bought me something nice for tonight." She says as she turns to head to the elevator. "I'm assuming sometime during our trips this afternoon, you told her to go ahead and fill out my wardrobe." She guesses as she looks at Lucifer with amusement, hitting the button for the elevator. Assuming that they don't need some fancy key in order to go up.

Following her with a bit of amusement, Lucifer glances her over. "Why Detective. Perhaps you know me better than you think." He says with a little chuckle. "I'm sure if she didn't get you anything suitable, there might be something among my.. lost and found, as it were." He reassures as he waits the few moments it takes for the elevator to arrive. The fact that it's not still waiting at the garage level at least tells him Maze has been up in it. Since the two attempts on his life and his new found vulnerability with Chloe around, he's been forced to put in a security code for his elevator to keep just anyone from wandering into his penthouse. Very few were given the code. Chloe being one of the first, naturally.

"Ugh. I'm not wearing another one of those things, Lucifer. I'll make do." Chloe says with a shake of her head, having felt vaguely dirty last time she had to borrow one of his 'leftovers' from past overnight guests. She was assured it was perfectly clean, but it still felt weird and wrong to be wearing something that belonged to someone Lucifer had sex with. And she wanted something to 'wow' Lucifer with, maybe tempt him a little. Two can play his game, afterall, and she has a bet to win. Though, if she were honest with herself (which she rarely is), she wouldn't mind losing this bet so much. A date with Lucifer wouldn't be so bad. And yeah, most of the time his innuendo and attempts at verbal seduction are inappropriate and annoying, but Chloe has gotten used to them, and it's even a little bit of comforting in its normalcy now. If Lucifer were to suddenly stop that, she might think something was wrong. It might even put her off her game a little. At least if she didn't know the reason. But she's going to know the reason, because she's going to win the bet. On principal.

When the elevator arrives, Chloe gets on first at Lucifer's insistence, with Lucifer stepping in behind her to hit the button for his penthouse. "How many times do I have to tell you, Detective, they've all been dry cleaned. I only hang onto them for emergencies. Very rarely, clothing can become a little.. tattered." He explains, a little awkwardly at first before he glances sideways to see the reaction of the blonde at his side.

That brings to mind a dirty dream that Chloe had about Lucifer once, and she blushes a little, before she shakes her head to dislodge the thought from her head. "I don't care, Lucifer. I really don't. I just don't want to wear them, ok?" She asks as she glances at him. Seeing the way he's looking at her with an almost smug little smirk, she frowns slightly. "What?" She asks sharply, more than she intended to, crossing her arms defensively.

"Oh, I just think you /like/ that idea, Detective." Lucifer explains playfully as he looks at her, pitching his voice a little lower. "The thought that we might be so impatient, so overcome with our passion that we can't wait to literally rip eachother's clothes off. Mmf." He nearly purrs seductively with a positively sinful sound as his hooded eyes look Chloe over slowly as he thinks about it.

And now Chloe is blushing even more. As much as she is trying to maintain her composure, with Lucifer using THAT voice, and putting those images into her head, it's hard not to think about it, even for a moment. "Lucifer." She scolds irritably as she looks at him, trying to hang onto her annoyance and not let herself linger on those thoughts.

"What? Hear something you like?" Lucifer asks with a smug little grin as he looks at Chloe, before he turns to step out of the elevator as it gets to his penthouse, heading over to pour himself a drink.

Sighing irritably, Chloe steps out and follows him. "I am annoyed Lucifer, not turned on." Liar. Traitorous body. "I'm going to go see if Maze finished her shopping." She says with a small shake of her head before she heads back toward the guest room, maybe adding a little more sway to her hips than she needs to. Being able to mess with Lucifer the way he messes with her is a little empowering, afterall.

This is going to be harder than Lucifer thought. The only thing he could hope for was to get Chloe to turn her mind off for a little bit and hope that she kisses him. That way the bet would be off and he could show her just how good they could be together. And still take her out on a proper date, because that's what she deserves. He gulps down his glass of scotch before he smirks a little and walks into his closet, considering his wardrobe and going through his memories. There were definite shirts at least that caused her eyes to linger a little longer on him. He finds the purple one she seems to like especially, and carefully selects some slacks and a suit jacket to go with it. He decides to change in his closet, not wanting to upset Chloe before the fun has even begun by letting her walk in on him changing. And she might need the bathroom to do her hair and makeup. Her things were still all over his counter. For the life of him, he can't bring himself to care, either.

It's very clear from the moment Chloe steps into the room that Maze has been shopping. There are bags /everywhere/, and she tries hard not to pay attention to the names on the side of them. Without really paying attention to the clothes, she starts to unpack the bags, laying the clothes out on the bed. Anything not suitable for a club is immediately folded and put away in the dresser, or hung up in the ridiculously large closet. There's even shoes in her size and style, which makes her shake her head. Once everything is in some semblance of order, she looks over the clothes left on the bed that might be suitable. She finally decides on a dress that would normally be way inappropriate for anything that she would want to do, but with the low-cut back and stretchy material, she knows that it will suit her needs for the night perfectly. Before doing anything else, she goes to the bathroom, guessing Lucifer is in his closet. Good. She quickly gathers the makeup and everything that she needs before retreating to her room.

Lucifer comes out of his closet just in time to finish the last buttons on his shirt and see Chloe's retreating figure. He can't help but smirk a little as he pulls on his jacket and then heads out to his bar, pouring himself another drink and putting on some soft music at random. It's a little early to go down to the club, so while he's thinking of it, he goes to the kitchen, preparing a cheese and meat platter, since Chloe most definitely should not drink on an empty stomach, but he doesn't have the inclination to make anything more complicated. After retrieving and opening a bottle of wine he knows the Detective will appreciate, Lucifer walks over to look out the window at the sun setting over the city, sipping his drink as he watches the lights of the city flickering on.

"Lucifer?" Chloe asks as she comes out, her hair down around her in soft waves, her makeup a little heavier to accentuate her eyes. The dress itself is a deep wine red which made her smirk since Lucifer said red was his favorite color. It's easy to move in, the skirt somewhat modest at least since it does go down to her knees, even if the fabric does hug her curves. The back of the dress is cut much lower than she might otherwise wear, down to her lower back. She was always fascinated by how these things managed to stay up, but this one had a sneaky little clear strap across the back that would be invisible in the low light of the club, but kept the two sides together near the bottom of her shoulderblades.

Turning from the window, Lucifer sees his detective and his breath catches. He can't help but stare in shock as he looks at Chloe in a dress he never would have expected her to actually wear unless she absolutely had to for a case. Slowly, his gaze moves from her smoky eyes, natural lips and wavy hair, down to her curve-hugging dress in shade of red that makes her hair look like honey and her skin absolutely glow. Finally, his eyes move down to her legs which are accented by a pair of surprisingly comfortable looking strappy heels. "Detective.." He says slowly, surprised at how breathy his tone sounds, still in a state of shock.

Chloe holds back a grin at Lucifer's reaction, and she steps in a small circle so he can see all of it. "Is this ok? You won't be ashamed to be seen with me?" She asks playfully as she looks at him. Of course, he's wearing her favorite shirt, the one that looked soft and was tight enough to give her a glimpse of his physique, but not restricting. His whole outfit accented his body amazingly, and she wonders if he actually dressed for her. Not that he ever looked bad, all of his suits made him look amazing. But she's pretty sure that was kind of the point.

"Detective.. I think I will /have/ to stay by your side this evening, otherwise you may be mobbed with men. You look ravishing." Lucifer says sincerely as he very deliberately walks toward her, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his drink. Finishing his drink, he sets it aside before he finishes making his way over to Chloe, trailing his fingers down her bare arm before he can lift her hand up gently. Not really holding it so much as just supporting her fingers with his, leading her toward a table he moved in front of the balcony windows. "I made up a bit of food, no one should drink on an empty stomach. It's a little early to go down to Lux. It's barely been open an hour." He explains, unable to take his eyes off Chloe as he releases her hand and moves to pull a chair out for her.

Blushing a little at the almost feral grace Lucifer moves with, Chloe remains where she is, having the insane thought that you shouldn't run from a predator. She allows herself to be led to the table, feeling a bit trapped by his gaze and wondering if it was a bad idea to tempt him so much, especially with a bet on the line. Because besides losing a bet, she has to worry about her partner, her friend, and her daughter, should anything happen. Finally tearing her eyes away from Lucifer, Chloe looks down at the table and she smiles. "You just threw this together?" She asks as she looks at the elegant presentation, shaking her head as she slowly sits down.

"Yes, well, I had a bit of time, you were taking forever." Lucifer says before he quickly adds, "Well worth the wait though." He reassures, pushing in the chair under her. Gently, he brushes his fingers across the back of her neck, lightly brushing down her back a little before he says, "Remind me to thank Maze later.." Before he snaps himself out of a similar trance and moves to take the seat across from her.

A small shiver travels down Chloe's back at his touch, and she immediately second-guesses her choice in dress. At least the front is modest, as if to make up for the lack of fabric in the back. "I think you over-estimate this dress, Lucifer. I've seen the sorts of girls that come through Lux, remember? Those are like.. genuine models." She says with a small shake of her head. Of course she leaves out the part about seeing the types of girls that Lucifer takes a liking to. Sure, they may all be different, but they're all leggy, and gorgeous. He was definitely telling the truth about being a leg man. As much as she tries to project confidence, she doesn't actually think she can compete with any of them. This is the most dressed up she's been in years, and she knows how beautiful and expensive the dress must be, but she still doesn't think she would measure up, if put side-by-side to one of those leggy models Lucifer has been with.

"Detective. You under-estimate yourself, I think. You don't see yourself the way I do." Lucifer reassures as he looks at her, leaning forward to carefully reach across the table to loosely hold her hand in his. "You are unlike any woman I have ever met, Chloe Decker." He says sincerely as he looks into her eyes. "The difference is, you don't have to get dressed up and put on layers of make up to look good. You are gorgeous even after – nay, especially after – chasing down a suspect for two blocks when your hair starts to come out of your ponytail, and your clothes are all askew. Possibly ripped or dirty, knowing you." He notes with some bit of amusement, thumb brushing across her fingers for a moment. "But tonight..." He looks her over again and lets out a sigh, sounding in awe of her. "You will be the most stunning woman in the club. You could outshine the Host of Heaven." He says sincerely as he watches her, no hint of sarcasm or his usual playfulness in his tone or on his face.

Again caught off-guard by Lucifer's sincerity, Chloe blushes a little and she laughs slightly as she looks down at where her hand rests in his. "Wow. T-thank you, Lucifer.." She says with a small nod of her head and a shy smile. "Not sure if I should take that as a compliment, since you don't seem to like or approve of anything Heavenly." She points out as she looks up at him curiously after a moment.

"While I may think it's bloody boring, and full of the biggest self-righteous hypocrites in all of creation, make no mistake. It is a beautiful place." Lucifer says with a small nod of his head. "It was meant as the highest of compliments." He says quietly as he watches her, before he smiles a little. "I am truly honored to be accompanying you tonight." Lifting her hand gently, he places a soft kiss on her knuckles before releasing her, reaching out to pick up the wine bottle and pour her a glass of wine. "Now, have something to eat. I promised I wouldn't let you get drunk, and this is the first step." He says with a smirk, slightly back to his old self.

Not really sure how to deal with a sincere and serious Devil, Chloe blushes and she nods a little. "Okay." She says in a soft voice with a little smile. "Thanks." She says as she accepts the stemless wine glass from that, her hand brushing his and sending a small shiver through her. "Oh. Quick addendum to our bet. What I do when I'm drunk doesn't count because I'm not in my right mind." Reaching forward, she picks up a few things off the platter, nibbling on them as she takes a sip of her wine to fortify herself.

Considering that for a few moments, Lucifer nods. "Agreed. If you make a move on me, Detective, I'd prefer it be when you are of sound mind. We all know what you do when you get drunk." He points out with a little grin as he glances her over, vividly remembering the night she tried to drunkenly seduce him. That was when he truly knew that Chloe desired him, beyond just the cues of her body. She came to him - even though she was drunk - for sex, or possibly comfort. She could have stayed home, she could have done almost anything, but she chose to come to him instead. He picks up a little of the food as well, sitting back in his chair as he sips his scotch and watches the woman in front of him.

Seeming content with that and deciding to ignore the implication that she is a horny drunk, Chloe shakes her head a little thoughtfully. "You know, I spent a year trying to figure out how to deal with your flirting and all your innuendo. This sudden seriousness is throwing me off." She teases with a little smile as she watches Lucifer for a moment, then turns her head to look out at the city.

"Well, worry not, Detective. I'm sure it's just temporary. Of course, there's a very simple way to get me to stop talking altogether." Lucifer teases with a small grin and a slight arch of an eyebrow. And the flirty Devil is back. Then again, that's kind of his thing. And his Detective is sitting in front of him looking absolutely ravishing and giving him some very naughty thoughts of things he could do to her in that skirt.

"There he is." Chloe says as she turns her attention back to Lucifer with a little chuckle. "There's the Lucifer I'm used to." She says with a little affection to her tone as she watches him. "I'm not sure I want to know where you keep a ball gag though." She muses with utmost innocence, as if that is the only thing he could possibly be referring to.

Comments like that make Lucifer sit up and take notice, and hearing it come so casually from Chloe almost makes him choke on his drink. "Well, well, Detective. You /do/ have a dirty mind. I do have one, and perhaps someday we'll even use it, but I was thinking of something quicker, more effective, and much more pleasurable for the both of us." He explains suggestively as he leans toward her a little, running his tongue along his lower lip slowly.

Deciding to play his game because afterall she's trying to win the bet, Chloe takes a drink of her wine and then leans toward him as well. She looks down at his hands for a moment before glancing up at him through her lashes. "Sometimes simple is the best. You always have to master the basics, right?" She asks as she glances back down at his hands, and then slowly sits back away from him after picking up a few more pieces of food, as if that was her plan all along. Once she's sitting back, she slowly crosses her legs, eyes on Lucifer.

It would almost be worth it to give up on the bet if Chloe would follow through on any of her flirting. And despite her track record, he is still hopeful that she might follow through. "Mmf. Yes, I absolutely agree with you, Detective." He murmurs in a low tone, eyes dropping to Chloe's legs. He takes a deep breath as he sits back, finishing the last of his scotch before pouring a little wine into the same glass and eating some more of the food. Trying to distract himself, he glances at his watch and then looks out over the darkened city. Sure, they might be the first ones down to the club, but he can't spend much more time alone with Chloe when she's being like this. And he knows this is unusual behavior for her, he knows she's probably trying to win a bet. It's just so much /fun/ when she responds to his flirting. He didn't exactly expect her to be a shy flower, but he also didn't expect her to be so skilled at it. And doesn't that make it all the more exciting.

"Well, it's about time we head down, hm?" Lucifer asks as he turns his attention back to Chloe, getting up smoothly to remove the platter in front of her and bring it back to the fridge before he returns to her, giving her time to finish her food. "Shall we?" He asks as he offers his hand to her, both to help her up and because he just wants to touch her.

Hiding a smirk behind another sip of wine, Chloe nods as she takes Lucifer's hand to stand slowly. "Sure." She says before releasing his hand, walking with confidence and purpose toward the elevator where she presses the button. She can feel Lucifer step up behind her, and even though they're not touching, she can feel the warmth of his body. "I hope your DJ is going to be playing some good music tonight, I am actually in the mood to dance." She sounds a little surprised that she is, since she's not a fantastic dancer, and doesn't dance most of the time.

"I'll have him play whatever you desire. Perhaps we'll have a fun little 90's retro night, hm?" Lucifer asks with a little grin, leaning down toward her but staying enough away that not even his jacket brushes against her. "I already know you like that sort of dance music." He teases a little, straightening when the elevator doors open and he waits for her to move before following her into the elevator.

There is something about the enclosed yet public space of an elevator that seems to intensify feelings, especially ones of attraction, Chloe's found, and this time is no exception. As soon as the elevator doors close, she can feel the attraction crackling like electricity between her and Lucifer. The draw toward him is almost irresistible. Not for the first time, she wonders if she'll make it through the night without jumping him. At least if she does lose the bet, the penalty she has to pay won't be too horrible, considering the types of things Lucifer could come up with. She glances over at him for a moment, realizing how often she's been thinking the same thing tonight while trying to convince herself this is a good idea. Hopefully some dancing will be distracting enough. "Sounds fun." Chloe finally replies, glancing over at Lucifer and hating that her voice comes out a little more throaty than she had intended.

Not immune to the magic of elevators, Lucifer puts his hands in his trouser pockets to keep from reaching out to Chloe or... other things, which he tries very hard not to think about at the moment. "It's decided, then." He says with a small nod toward Chloe.

When the doors open, it's clear that despite what Lucifer said, Lux is in full swing already, the club full of colorful party goers with drinks in hand, grooving on the dance floor or lingering to chat around various tables and booths that are permanent fixtures of the club.

Placing one hand on Chloe's very bare back, Lucifer leads her over to the bar where he smiles at the bartender. "Jacob. You remember the Detective. She's had a very rough few days, so she's here tonight to relax." He explains, not wanting people to think Chloe is there on some police business. "Get the lady whatever she likes, on me." Turning, he provides an arm to Chloe for support as she slips onto one of the stools at the bar before he smiles a little at her. "I'll be right back, darling, I have instructions to give my DJ." He winks and grins at her before he turns to weave his way through the crowd toward the DJ booth. Not that he has to do much weaving. Mostly the crowd just parts before him like some weird Moses and the Red Sea thing. Ironic.

Chloe smirked as she watched Lucifer's retreating back before she turned to the bartender, considering for a few moments. "Rum and coke, please." She orders, not wanting anything too strong to start out with. Lucifer did promise not to let her get drunk, but that doesn't mean she can't get a nice buzz. Might be dangerous for the bet, but she is caring less and less about winning and more about actually being able to enjoy herself for once, and not constantly having to be the responsible one. She can't remember the last time she was able to just go out for drinks and enjoy herself.

Finally making it up to the DJ booth, Lucifer leans over to have a word with the man, having been stopped once or twice by people who wanted to have word with him. And he had to decline at least one rather interesting invitation from a pair of lovely ladies. It would have been tempting if he didn't have the Detective waiting for him at the bar. It's not difficult to convince the DJ of what he wants, and he nods a little to the man before he turns to head back down into the crowd. Before he does though, he sees Chloe sitting at the bar sipping her drink, looking for all the world like a siren sent to tempt men to their doom. And that is exactly what is happening. From his vantage point, the Devil can see two separate men starting to head toward the bar.

And there is the unpleasant, unfamiliar feeling again, what Dr. Linda called jealousy, the fat man sitting on his chest. This time though, he can admit he's jealous, or maybe at least a little possessive. While he wants his Detective to enjoy herself and have a good time, he also wants her attention on him. Selfish perhaps, but how else is he going to convince her that he's worth taking a chance on? Then again, maybe he should let those miscreants hit on her, he muses, let her see just how inferior the competition is.

Feeling a little better about the situation, Lucifer makes his way through the crowd easily, glancing at a few people before allowing himself to look up to where Chloe is. She's actually talking to one of the suitors who were approaching her, and worse than that, she's laughing. Genuinely laughing, with her head thrown back, looking like she's having a great time. Taking a moment to control his anger and jealousy, Lucifer adjusts his jacket and his cuffs before he walks confidently over to Chloe, just as the music changes to more 90's rock/dance music. "As promised, darling." He says smoothly, pointing upwards with a little grin before he picks up his drink from where the bartender placed it upon seeing him approach.

Although yes, Chloe was having a good time talking to the man who approached her, she was more amused than interested. Lucifer may excessively flirt and make suggestive comments, but he never once made her feel like some object to be possessed. While she doesn't necessarily like comparing other men to Lucifer, she has to admit in this guy's case, he deserves it. Thinking that he's God's gift to women or something. His attempts at flirting only made her laugh. Still, she's grateful when Lucifer comes back, and she tilts her head back toward him a little. "Thank you." She says with a smile, lifting one hand to reach behind her a little and grasp the very edge of one of his lapels a little before she takes a drink out of her glass.

"Sorry.. um.. Brad, was it?" Chloe asks as she looks at the man in front of her, trying to make it clear how forgettable he is. "I promised to dance with Lucifer tonight." She says with no apology in her tone. Dismissing the man by swiveling on her stool toward Lucifer a little, she grins a little as she looks up at him. Even on the tall stool he's like a foot taller than her. Grumble.

With slightly raised eyebrows, Lucifer grins a little. "Hello." He murmurs in surprise as he glances down at her hand on his jacket. Taking this as permission, he slides his arm around Chloe to rest his hand on her waist. "Yes, do bugger off." He shoots at the other man, watching as he walks away before he looks down at Chloe. "How many drinks have you had since I left?" He asks in amusement, knowing that one glass of wine and a half a rum and coke should not have made her tipsy.

Letting out a sigh of relief when the man leaves, Chloe drops her hand but she still smiles a little. "Just my first. I just wanted that guy to leave. I was choking on his aftershave, and he was way too arrogant for my tastes. He was acting like I was a sure thing. A little like you were when we first met actually. Except even then, you weren't a greasy weasel." She says with a small shudder.

Looking a little offended, Lucifer snorts a little. "I should hope not. And I of all people know that nothing with you, Detective, is a sure thing." He says with a little smirk as he looks at her. "I hope you weren't lying about the dancing, at least." He says as he tilts his head toward the dance floor a little before taking a drink of his scotch.

Chloe glances at the dance floor and then back at Lucifer before she smirks a little. "No, I wasn't lying about the dancing." She reassures before she gulps down the last of her drink. Sliding off her stool carefully, she looks up at Lucifer and smiles a little. "Shall we?" She asks before she turns to strut toward the dance floor.

Not about to let her wander very far on her own when she looks like she does, Lucifer downs the rest of his drink before he quickly follows her. "I love this side of you, Detective. It's absolutely fascinating." He says as he leans down closer to her, putting his hand on her lower back to help guide her, thumb brushing along her bared skin. Although the dance floor has gotten busier, it's by no means packed when Lucifer steps ahead of his Detective and takes her hand to pull her close against him before he starts to move to the beat, giving it a moment before he starts to take his cues from the movements of her body.

Sometimes Chloe wonders if there's anything that Lucifer isn't good at. She can't help but laugh as she is pulled against him though, one hand in his, the other resting on his bicep for a moment. She closes her eyes before she gives herself over to the music. Not the best at dancing, but she can swing her hips with the best of them. Everything seems to fade away a little as she dances from one song to the next, Lucifer's hands often on her whether just to touch her, or to steady her or pull her closer. And she loves it as she swings her head back and forth, hair flying with her arms above her head. By the end of the third song – that she was actually singing along to – she is starting to feel tired, and she laughs a little as she grabs onto Lucifer's arm and leans against him. Breathing hard and still giggling occasionally, she tugs him down closer to her own level. "I think I need to sit down.. And I need a drink."

"Then by all means." Lucifer replies as he turns with her and starts to lead her off the dance floor. She turned out to be an easy dance partner, though he seldom partook himself, always being interested in many other things than dancing. He's been completely enthralled by how carefree she seems though, and a part of him wishes he could have met Chloe before she had been married, before Trixie, when she was still an aspiring young actress with nothing to lose. But then she wouldn't be the same, she wouldn't be the woman he's come to care for, that so mesmerizes him. Better things worked out the way they did. He catches Chloe around the waist when she stumbles up the step to the level near the bar and he chuckles a little. "Careful, I'd hate for this night to end with a visit to hospital. I've heard women say they were drunk on my presence, but this is a bit ridiculous." He teases a little as he finally helps her up onto one of the stools and flags down a bartender.

Swatting at Lucifer's arm, Chloe giggles a little. "Not everything is about you, Lucifer. It's been a while since I've had this much fun." She admits with a smile as she looks up at him, before she shakes her head a little and reaches to pull her hair around so it's all over one shoulder. "Um.. I will have a martini. Dirty." She decides, glancing at Lucifer and arching an eyebrow a little as she waits for the inevitable remark.

Enthralled by Chloe, Lucifer just stares at her while shaking his head a little. "You are an enigma, Chloe." He finally confesses in a heartfelt tone as he looks at her, his smile a little confused but still amused as he watches her. He doesn't even need to order a drink, his usual is placed before him in a few moments. "Careful on the drinks though, Detective," He says as he recovers himself. "Wouldn't want this night to end too early. I did say I would keep you from drinking too much. And if you get drunk, we are going straight back upstairs." He says in a more serious tone, not wanting Chloe to endanger herself and he could keep a better eye on her in the penthouse if she were drunk.

"This is only my second drink, Lucifer. I'm not that much of a lightweight." Chloe reassures as she looks at him with a shake of her head. "But, thank you." She adds more sincerely, smiling as she looks at him. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you dance. Is there anything you're not good at?" She asks with some amusement, tilting her head a little as she watches him. After she gets her drink, she crosses her legs before swiveling around so she can see the dance floor curiously, leaning back against the bar with one arm. Now seems as good a time as any to really look at those who attend Lux.

Leaning against the bar beside Chloe, Lucifer watches her, admiring how she looks. Right now, she truly seems to belong in Lux. She looks for all the world like a Queen surveying her realm, her subjects, Lucifer muses as he watches her. "I'm sure there are many things I'm not good at. Oh. There is one you tell me quite often, Detective." He says with a smirk as he takes a drink from his glass, waiting until Chloe looks at him. "Following police procedures, of course." He says with a playful grin as he looks at her.

Having no idea when she might have said Lucifer is bad at anything, Chloe sips her martini before she looks up at her partner. When he explains, she starts laughing, tilting her head back a little as she sits up and puts her hand over her mouth. "You're right. Good. It's no fun if you have no flaws." She teases with another little giggle before she sits back, not able to completely get rid of the small, amused smile that curls her lips as she takes another sip of her martini.

Feeling an odd bit of pride when Chloe laughs like that, Lucifer smirks smugly and nods slowly to her as he sips his own drink. "Everyone has flaws, Detective. Even the Devil." He reassures with a small chuckle of his own before he falls silent and turns to look out at the dance floor as well, surveying it with an expert eye. Surprisingly, people are taking to the 90's night, dancing in ridiculous ways but seeming to enjoy themselves. It's livened up the bar a little bit, and he hears more laughter then normally occurs in what could be called his den of debauchery. He doesn't mind in the slightest, for one night. Laughter is good for the soul, isn't that the saying? Slowly, he turns his head back to look at Chloe. She is responsible for this. It was her odd preference for music which made him ask the DJ for a night of it. All in an effort to help her relax and have a good evening before she inevitably has to go back to the stresses of work and her spawn.

"What?" Chloe asks as she glances at Lucifer and sees him looking at her, wondering if her makeup got smudged or something. She hasn't really been paying attention to it much. Yeah, she just got as made up as she did in order to get a reaction from Lucifer (worth it), but she knows that he's seen her when she was in pretty bad shape as well. So she has no need to try and impress him. Still, she doesn't want to look like a fool in front of the entire bar. Not that she thinks anyone is paying attention to her, beyond the fact that she's monopolized Lucifer all evening.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing." Lucifer reassures with a little smile and a slight shrug. "You're responsible for this, Detective." He playfully accuses, motioning to bar and dance floor with his hand that's holding his glass. "It's been quite some time since I heard so much laughter in Lux." He admits with a little smile as he watches her over the edge of his glass as he takes another drink.

Chloe snorts a little. "Maybe you should think about having more fun nights. This place is always so intense." She says as she glances around. "You can have a good time, laugh, get your groove on, and still have a happy ending to the night." She points out as she takes another drink of her martini, glancing at it for a moment as she realizes it's almost gone. "And technically, it's not my fault. You didn't have to change the music just for me, Lucifer. This is your club and I very much doubt I could force you to do /anything/ you didn't want to." She says as she considers the few times she has tried to physically hold Lucifer back. He is strong, there is no doubting that. He could probably snap her in half like a twig. And while she wonders how he is so lean and yet so strong, she has never once felt like she would be in danger around him, or that he would ever hurt her. Which is more than she can say for a long of other muscle-bound men. There is something to be said for knowing there's that power simmering just under the surface as well. It certainly adds to Lucifer's general sexiness.

"Perhaps not, but I am trying to give you a good evening, Detective. You do have a preference for this type of music. It's such a simple thing to change, why not do it?" Lucifer explains with a shrug, finishing the rest of his drink and turning toward her a little more in order to put his glass on the bar behind her. Sometimes things are so very black and white with Lucifer. Cause and effect. He acts like there was no other choice than to have the music changed for Chloe, like it was a foregone conclusion, even if it's something much more thoughtful than he gives himself credit for.

"You know, you come across all flirty and tough, and devil-may-care.." Chloe hesitates, starting to get a little bit of a buzz now apparently, enough that she giggles at her own joke. "But you can be very thoughtful and sweet. And no matter what you say, you're good with Trixie." She says with a small nod as she looks at him. "Come on. Lets dance some more, please?" She asks as she slides off her stool and finishes her drink, setting the glass aside before taking Lucifer's hand again.

Glad that he doesn't have to respond to Chloe's comments, Lucifer follows her out onto the dance floor, making a mental note to get some food or water into Chloe before she can have any more alcohol. A bit buzzed or tipsy is fine, but he is a Devil of his word, and he won't let her get drunk. Exercise is good, too, so he is more than happy to take her onto the dance floor, grinning and letting her lead a little at first before the song switches and he takes lead a little more, pulling Chloe against him as they move around the dance floor. The dancing fits the mood of the songs though, quick, happy, and probably a lot goofy. But everyone is sort of dancing like that, so if Lucifer looks a little out of character or weird, it's just because for the first time that he can remember in his very long existence, he actually feels a happiness. Not satisfaction, not contentment, but actual happiness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all again for reading, reviewing, and following! I'm very happy people are enjoying my little story so far. I know there's been a ridiculous amount of soft fluffiness, but next chapter Chloe and Lucifer return to work! Please let me know what you think! Too much fluff? Not enough? Characters OOC? I know they are a tad, but am I pushing it too far? Let me know! Also, my apologies for any out of place or missing E's. That key has decided it wants to die. Anyway, on with the show! (By the way, anyone out there get my sneaky Miranda reference in the last chapter? If you don't know what that is, I highly recommend it.)**

**Reviews/Comments welcome!**

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The problem with enjoying yourself too much is that it makes you inattentive. While they were dancing, Lucifer felt a hand on his back which was definitely not the Detective's. Not a surprising thing, but not something he wanted at the moment, so he turns in order to ask the pretty young woman to politely go away. Not an easy task necessarily because the young lady is slightly tipsy and therefore a little more tenacious. By the time he turns back toward the Detective, she has moved away from him into the crowd. Experiencing a brief moment of panic, he uses his height to find his wily partner, who apparently has made a beeline for the bar and has already downed two, maybe thr shots when the Devil makes his way over to her. "Ah! Detective! I think you've had quite enough." He decides as he snatches a third (fourth?) shot from her hands, downing it himself before he puts his arm around her waist. "You've had quite enough to drink I think. And I have a promise to keep." He the Detective away from the bar and starts to guide her toward the elevator, surprised that she's not fighting him more.

"Aw, c'mon, Lucifer." Chloe pouts as she looks at him, but she is still only a little buzzed and so has enough presence of mind to realize that yes, he is making sense and she really needs to stop having so much fun now. "We've not even been down here all that long." She objects weakly as she follows him toward the elevator, very much considering making a break for it back to the dance floor but she's not 16.

"Chloe. We've been down here for nearly three hours." Lucifer says with a surprised tone as he looks at her since his Detective normally has a much better sense of time. When they get to the elevator, he presses the button and then leads her inside since the car is already there. "If you want something more to drink, you can have it in the penthouse, but we're going to eat something as well. I still have the rest of that bottle of wine." He offers as a peace offering, keeping a hold on Chloe so she can't slip away from him again. He was surprisingly worried when he turned around and she was gone. Not that he thought she would get hurt in his club. If he was afraid it was just because he didn't want to break his promise. That's absolutely the only reason.

"Really? Wow. Three hours." Chloe muses as her brain process that. "Time flies when you're having fun, right?" She asks with a smirk as she nudges Lucifer a little. "I know you promised, but I really didn't need a babysitter." She reminds, glancing up at him for a moment. "I'm not drunk, I barely have a buzz." Actually, truth be told, she has a little more than just a buzz, she was on her way to tipsy but it felt good and she wasn't about to tell Mama Lucifer that. She giggles a little, covering her mouth to try and hide it from Lucifer's keen ears as the thought crosses her mind. Mama Lucifer. He has been acting kind of protective tonight, she thinks as she glances up at his curious expression. She waves a hand dismissively before stepping out into the penthouse when the doors open. "Nothing. I was just thinking about something funny from earlier." Which is kind of mostly the truth.

Perplexed by Chloe's sudden outburst, Lucifer shakes his head a little. "I'm seriously starting to doubt your sobriety, Detective." Following her out of the elevator, he watches her for a few moments. "I'll get us something to eat, don't wander off." He says skeptically as he looks at her, a little afraid she might slip back down to the club while he's out of the room, but he assumes even tipsy she wouldn't be so defiant. Slipping out of his suit jacket and tossing it onto his bed as he passes his bedroom on the way to the kitchen, he starts undoing his sleeves to roll them up so he won't dirty them while he puts something together for himself and his tipsy Detective.

Giggling a little again at Lucifer's concern and his mothering, Chloe walks over to the couch so she can balance herself on the back of it as she takes off her heels. "Oww.." She mutters, then groans in relief as her bare feet touch the cool floor. Deciding just to wait to see what Lucifer comes up with, she decides to wander into his office/library and finally take a closer look at the 10-12 foot high wall of books that sits behind his desk. A lot of them look very old, and she finds herself running her fingertips reverently along the spines of a few of them, tilting her head a little in order to read the titles. Some of which she can't read because they're not in English, which only intrigues her since she never knew Lucifer could speak any other languages. It makes total sense once she thinks about it, but it never crossed her mind before.

Forcing herself to focus, Chloe makes her way down the wall of books, noticing that they get newer the closer she gets to the balcony and she wonders what kind of organizations system Lucifer has for this. Probably one only he knows. She can't help but giggle as she pulls out a version of Dante's Inferno. "That's ironic." She mutters as she looks it over, trying to remember anything from the book from her time in school, but her mind won't focus on whatever fragments there are. Placing the book back on the shelf, Chloe looks at some of the others, realizing that Lucifer must be an avid reader, because there are quite a few different genres and types of books represented in his collection. And this is just what he chooses to display. She has no doubt he's read more than this, and these are just the ones he decided to keep.

Getting bored of looking at the books, no matter how intrigued she is by the insight it gives her, Chloe turns and looks down at Lucifer's desk as she moves past it and back out to the main area. Looking around at everything, she considers the penthouse as as whole, thoughtfully. She never really noticed how many antiques seem to be sitting around. Surprising, given how many people were wandering in and out all the time. Well, until recently. And she's still not sure whether to believe Lucifer, his words from that morning echoing through her mind: _Can you not see how much you've changed me, Detective?_ It was definitely true that Lucifer had changed, compared to the first day they met, but was it enough? Chloe put herself in the line of danger all the time during the course of her job, would jump in front of a bullet to save someone. Could she really take this leap, though?

"Find anything interesting, Detective?" Lucifer breaks through her thoughts, looking and sounding a bit amused since he's been watching Chloe move around the penthouse for about five minutes. He's carrying another tray, this one seeming to have cold sandwiches and surprisingly, a basket of french fries on it. He walks over to the couch and sets the tray on the coffee table before he holds his hand out to her and beckons Chloe over.

Startled, Chloe lets out an undignified squeak as she looks over at Lucifer. She was totally not snooping. Clearing her throat a little, she shakes her head and moves away from the shelf of knick-knacks she was looking at and trying to decipher. "Not really. Have you read all of those books?" She asks as she points toward the whole wall of them, walking back over toward him and sighing a little as she decides to sit on the floor in front of the coffee table, legs straight out in front of her because there's only so many non-revealing ways she can sit in this dress.

Content to join her, Lucifer settles on the floor and pulls the table closer, pouring them both a glass of the wine from earlier before he eats one of the fries. "Mmm." He confirms with a small nod. "I have.. Some of them I've had for quite some time." He muses as he glances back at the wall, thinking about some of the first books he ever purchased and how he squirreled away things for centuries sometimes in between his visits. "Find anything you like?" He asks having always been a bibliophile himself, but he can't picture what kind of book Chloe might read. Not a mystery, surely she has enough of that in her real life. Science Fiction is also doubtful give her general skepticism and reaction to her mother's movies. Perhaps historical fiction, or some sort of romance novel, that would be intriguing, Lucifer thinks as he looks at Chloe curiously.

"I have to admit, Dante's Inferno gave me a laugh. Somehow I didn't think you'd be a fan." Chloe says with a smile as she glances over at him, picking up one of the sandwiches to take a bite slowly. She shakes her head a little after chewing and swallowing. "You know, I get the coffee thing, I drink a lot of it around you, so it's not surprising you know how I like it." She begins as she looks at him. "But this is a seriously good sandwich. How could you possibly know I like to separate my condiments?" She asks as she looks at him, always having preferred that her Mayo and Mustard keep to separate sides of her sandwich.

"Come now, Detective. Do I have to keep reminding you that we've been partners for over a year now?" Lucifer asks as he takes one of the sandwiches to eat himself. "I've stolen enough of your food to realize your little quirks." He teases as he looks at her, shaking his head. "Everything about you interests me, Chloe." He says in a more sincere tone before he leans back against the couch a little and returns to his normal tone. "As for Dante, well. He was rather imaginative. Hell doesn't have levels so much and the punishments aren't all so uniform. I do, or rather did, tend to keep the worst occupants grouped together, easier to keep an eye on them that way, you know. The more horrible the person, the more personal attention you get. Most humans torture themselves, really. They relive their guilt over and over again. There's no locks on most of the doors. There is an out. If humans can resolve their own guilt, then they could leave. Of course, no one has ever managed that, so what does that say about humanity?" He asks casually as he glances at Chloe before he goes back to his food.

Not sure how to respond, Chloe focuses on the Devil/Hell part because that's actually easier for her to process than Lucifer's sincerity. She's not sure what that says about her, really. She doesn't have the inclination for that much self-reflection right now though. Maybe she should talk to Linda. When she's sober. Mentally shaking herself out of that reverie, she looks at Lucifer and smiles ruefully. "I don't really remember much about the Inferno." She says as she ignores the rest of the nonsense he says. "How many languages do you speak?" She asks suddenly as she remembers some of the books sitting on the shelves.

"All of them. Well, most of them, I don't know all of the regional dialects that have cropped up over the years, but I know the basics of most every language." Lucifer says as he glances at Chloe for a moment before he grins. "I'm master of all things tongue-related." He arches an eyebrow at her, smirking because he can't help but flirt, secretly hoping h might be able to elicit a blush from her. "Why do you ask?" He asks,finally asks, confused as to why she would ask in the first place. He finishes one of the sandwiches and drinks a bit of wine as he turns to face the Detective a little more.

"Some of the books aren't in English, so I was just wondering." Chloe says before she shrugs and giggles, blushing slightly before reaching out to cup Lucifer's chin, using her thumb to wipe away some mustard from the corner of his mouth. It's not like him to be anything less than perfectly neat, so to see him disheveled in any way makes her feel a bit better because it makes him feel a little bit more normal to her.

A bit surprised at the touch, Lucifer glances down at her hand for a moment before he licks his lips. "Well, thank you very much, Detective. You could have licked it off if you liked." He can't help but tease again, winking before he takes another drink of his wine. "What about you? Do you speak any other languages?"

Chloe licks her thumb off and shakes her head ruefully, reaching out to take a drink of her wine as well after finishing her sandwich. "Uh.. Spanish. Kind of. I mean, I can hold a conversation, but I can't get real in-depth. I tried taking German with this online course, because someone told me that grammatically speaking it was easier than Spanish, but the spelling of things was so strange, and it was so hard to speak... I dunno, I just sort of gave up on it." She admits, shrugging as she looks at him for a moment, admiring him, before she giggles as she reaches out to pull the fries closer to her.

"What do you find so amusing this time, Detective?" Lucifer asks, baffled by her behavior yet oddly amused by it as well. He's certainly enjoying her laughter but he can't for the life of him figure out what is so funny. Nothing either of them said strikes him as particularly funny, so it must have been something going on inside that mysterious head of hers.

Laughing a little harder for a moment, Chloe puts her hand over her mouth and finally calms down, patting Lucifer's leg without even thinking about it. "Nothing.. I mean.. it's just.. this feels a little like a date." She says with a little snicker at the sheer absurdity of that. Despite their date, she can't even really picture Lucifer going on a mundane date.

While that eliminates one mystery, it just brings up another for Lucifer. "I thought dates were usually dinner, followed by some activity like movies, or dancing, or sickening tourist attractions?" He asks as he recalls the few things he knows about dates. Not like he's ever needed or wanted to go on one before.

"Well, not necessarily. I mean, a date could be anything. But.. we had food and drinks before we went dancing, and now you made me a late dinner, we're sitting on the floor talking and getting to know one another.. Yeah, that's kind of like a date." Chloe says with a smirk as she looks at him, shaking her head a little in amusement. Well, Lucifer did say that relationships were completely foreign to him, this morning, didn't he? A part of her is surprised that Lucifer's /never/ been on a date, but mostly she gets it. Women (and some men) throw themselves at him all the time. He's obviously never had any desire for anything beyond sex, so why would he bother with a date?

Smiling a little with an unfamiliar feeling of hope blooming in his chest, Lucifer tries not to let anything show. "Hmm. Maybe you're starting to come around, Detective. Thinking about me and a date in the same sentence, that's improvement." He points out with a little smirk. "Are you thinking of this as a date then? Don't think it will get you out of our bet." He teases before tilting his head to the side. "I already know this 'date' will end well.. Afterall, I /am/ going to get you into my bed tonight, Detective. Again." He teases with a broad grin, quirking an eyebrow up briefly as he swallows a mouthful of wine.

Bursting out laughing at Lucifer, Chloe tilts her head back a little and giggles a little more before she lowers her head to take a sip of her wine, still giggling occasionally. "No, Lucifer. I'm not thinking of this as a date. I was just making the comparison." She says with a bit of amusement as she looks at him. "I'm not the one having difficulty with our bet." She points out with a little grin, looking him over for a moment before she sits forward to eat some more of the fries while they're still warm. "You're so incorrigible.." She adds with affectionate exasperation.

Lucifer just grins as he watches Chloe laugh, tilting his head to the side a little to admire her. Hearing her laugh in such a manner is always a pleasure, even if he doesn't fully understand the cause sometimes. "I think I've been handling it rather easily." He observes as he continues to watch his Detective, turning a little to lean his elbow on the couch cushion so he can watch her. "Oh but Detective, you wouldn't want me any other way. I believe you've been rather concerned if I try to be anything less than my usual self." He points out playfully, thinking of the few occasions that he tried to be more 'serious' around Chloe, and the odd looks he got from her every time that usually equated to 'what the hell'.

"Mmm. You're probably right. You're.. I don't even know how to describe you. But it works. For you, at least. And for our partnership. You're weirdness makes you see things that I wouldn't necessarily." She tilts her head back a little to watch him, clearly a little more intoxicated if the slightly unfocused look in her eyes is anything to go by. "But we make good partners, don't we?" She asks, almost sounding a little hopeful like she never thought to actually ask Lucifer what he thought of their partnership.

Smiling softly as Lucifer watches her affectionately, he nods slowly, his voice softer as he speaks. "Yes, Chloe. I think we are very good partners. The very best. I think our rate of solving crimes speaks for itself." He smiles softly as he watches her, taking a chance and lowering his arm along the edge of the couch to reach out his long fingers and slowly tuck some of Chloe's hair back. "You get a bit insecure when you're drunk, don't you?" He asks in a quick change of mood, but his expression and smile are still a little more fond than they usually are. "Have no fear, Detective, I am more than willing to soothe any and all of your insecurities." He adds suggestively as he looks her over slowly, switching back to his normal self completely as he gives her a slightly lecherous grin.

What passes through Chloe's head is a soft 'Awww', when Lucifer is being so nice and sweet, and then he goes back to being a pervert and she just giggles, because of course he did. "I am not drunk." She objects, then adds, "Maybe a little tipsy." She then considers with a slight smirk. "So if I kissed you right now, would it fall under our drunk clause or would you consider it winning the bet?" She asks as she stares at him, licking her lips a little. So yeah, she's been thinking about it for at least an hour. Or five. Since the kiss in the car, maybe. There is nothing anyone could say that would make her admit it though.

"My, my.. what is going on inside that devious mind of yours, Detective?" Lucifer asks as he leans a little closer to her, eyes moving over her face before settling on her full lips for a moment. "The fact that you're even asking that question leads me to believe you might be in an altered state of mind. But most definitely not to the drunk blackout stage. Which means you will remember everything in the morning." He notes with a sly grin as he watches her. "I suppose I could let it slide tonight, without taking victory, if you really want to kiss me that badly." His tone is quite magnanimous as he looks at Chloe, knowing she's quite under the influence. This is different from last time though, since she's not dead drunk, and she knew exactly what she was getting into when they went down to Lux. She's also not upset, and has enough of her faculties left to be asking him that question. Which means it wouldn't necessarily be taking advantage of her for something like a simple kiss. It's not as if he'd allow anything else. That would definitely break the bet, in more ways than one. More importantly, Chloe would be quite cross with him when she woke up in the morning.

Sipping her wine a little as she listens to Lucifer reasoning out his answer and only sort of half paying attention to it, Chloe smirks a little when he says 'yes', leaning toward him a little. "Maybe you were right about being addictive.." She mumbles as she puts her wine aside and lifts one hand to slide her fingers along his scruff, scraping her nails lightly through it for a moment. Seeming to make a decision, she shifts up onto her knees before she makes a quick move to lean in and kiss him. It's definitely more intense than the one earlier.

Prepared for her attack this time, Lucifer slides his hand into her hair, pulling her head away from his a little as he responds to her kiss, not allowing it to become too passionate so he doesn't get himself in trouble. That doesn't mean he doesn't thoroughly kiss her, with little flicks of his tongue against her lips which make her moan, but he doesn't push for entrance. No, there are some things he wants her to be dead sober for. He can't help a small half groan, half growl that comes from deep in his throat though when he feels Chloe's small hand slide into his hair. He wasn't kidding, that is one of the simple things that he absolutely loves, for whatever reason.

The penthouse, the night so far, consequences for the morning, suddenly none of that matters as all thoughts scatter from Chloe's mind. The only thing that matters is the feeling of Lucifer's firm, warm lips on hers and the light scratch of his scruff against her chin as he tilts his head a little more. Or the soft strands of his hair between her fingers as she slides one hand into his hair, squeezing the back of his neck a little. She tries to lean into the kiss a little more, very willing to stay right here for a very long time.

While Lucifer is starting to feel a little drunk, and not from alcohol, he keeps control, using the hand in her hair to firmly pull her head away from his as he leans back, the fingers of his other hand pressing against Chloe's abdomen to help push her away from him and keep her there. "Detective.. Chloe.." He whispers as he breaks the kiss. "As much as I have dreamt about this, and more, if you ever decide that's what you desire, I want you to be firmly, annoyingly sober. I want it to be because that is the decision you've come to, not because alcohol has decided to mess with your hormones." He says as he watches her, licking his lips slowly before he smirks a little. "Second time I've had to turn you down, Detective. Perhaps you should consider that." He points out, before he releases her and sits back, checking his watch. "Perhaps you'd better get ready for bed, Detective. I'm sure Maze has gotten you something more comfortable than my shirt to sleep in."

Whining a little when she's forced away from what she wants, Chloe sighs as she focuses on Lucifer. "I refuse to believe you've never slept with a woman who was at least a little drunk." She grumbles a little as she looks at him before she finally starts to get up, swaying a little as she gets up a little too quickly and gets a head rush.

Standing with Chloe to make sure she's steady on her feet and reaching out to hold onto her hips when she sways, Lucifer shrugs a little. "None of them were you, Detective." He says as if that should be obvious. "Now.. will you be able to manage changing, or will you need help?" He asks suggestively with another grin as he briefly looks Chloe over with a flirty smile and releases her hips.

"I think I can manage. I'll yell if I get stuck." Chloe says with an amused shake of her head, pushing at his shoulder a little to get him to pivot out of the way so she can move past him, sort of like pushing open a door. After she's past him, she runs a hand through her hair and heads to her room to find something to wear.

Moving out of the way and then watching her go Lucifer chuckles to himself, waiting until she's gone before he picks up the tray of food to bring it back to the kitchen, disposing of most of it but wrapping some of the sandwiches for tomorrow. Finally, with a glance at the closed door of the guest room, he heads up into his closet in order to undress and then into the bathroom to wash up. He goes to step out after and he smiles as he sees Chloe standing on the other side of the door, her hand raised to knock, taking in her clothing for a moment. Short cotton shorts and a soft tanktop certainly meet with his approval. "Well. Very college co-ed." He says as he motions to her with a little grin. "All yours, Detective." He says as he steps out and to the side, motioning her into the bathroom.

"Surprised Maze didn't just buy me a closet full of lingerie." Chloe mutters as she looks down at her clothing, trying to tug down the shorts a little more, blushing just a little as she glances at the shirtless Lucifer. Again. No wonder her hormones are all messed up.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Lucifer takes both of Chloe's hands in his so she'll leave her shorts alone. "Chloe." He says to bring her attention to him. "You look beautiful. Are these uncomfortable in any way?" He asks in a more serious tone, wondering what needs to happen for her to get over this shyness she seems to have developed.

"No, I mean.. they're not really.. uncomfortable. They're just.." Chloe glances down at herself, and the fact that pretty much all of her legs are exposed to a self-proclaimed 'leg man'. Ironically, after Hot Tub High School, she became less comfortable exposing herself. Or perhaps it's just the presence of a physical specimen like Lucifer that makes her feel 'less than'.

Lucifer nods slowly. "They're very exposing, yes. But honestly, who do you thinks going to see you in these? Me? Your child? Detective Douche for some reason?" He asks with a slightly arched eyebrow. "Beatrice certainly wouldn't think twice, Detective Douche has, unfortunately, already seen all of your assets, as have I. And while I do enjoy the view, I don't anticipate seeing much of it. These clothes are for sleeping." He says as he gives her hands a squeeze, rubbing his thumbs across her hands gently.

Blushing a little again, Chloe nods, but some of the tension seems to slide out of her shoulders as they sag slightly. "Right. I just.. I didn't.. I'll just go get cleaned up." Pulling her hands out of Lucifer's, she turns toward the bathroom to quickly disappear, not sure why wearing something like this should bother her so much. It's probably just Lucifer, he is affecting every aspect of her life already, why not this one as well? Shaking her head a little, Chloe brushes out her hair before she cleans all her makeup off, looking at herself for a moment in the mirror. She likes herself much better Au Naturale anyway. For a moment, she wonders if Lucifer has an opinion regarding makeup. She doesn't usually wear much but he supposedly is attracted to her just the same, but then she's seen some of the women that feel him up on a nightly basis and they are, more often than not, very heavily made up. If she asked, he'd probably spout some BS about everyone having their own beauty or something equally as un-Lucifer-like. She never thought she would say this, but she almost prefers the flirty, inappropriate Lucifer. At least that Lucifer she understands. Looking at herself in the mirror again, Chloe shakes her head a little at herself and her mixed up thoughts, leaning on the counter for a moment before turning away to exit the bathroom.

Lucifer is laying on the bed, half under the covers already, his arms folded behind him and propping his head up. It also happens to put his body on better display. "Everything alright, Detective?" He asks, the lights turned off in the rest of the penthouse, and only the one beside Lucifer's side of the bed still on, giving everything a soft, intimate glow.

Not what she was expecting. Chloe clears her throat a little after staring at Lucifer for longer than she should. "Mm-hmm." She reassures as she moves around the bed and gets in the other side. She did make a deal afterall, and lets face it, his bed is ridiculously comfortable. She very much doubts the guest bed is as comfortable, and it's probably never been slept quickly gets comfortable on her side, looking at Lucifer curiously for a moment. "I had a really good time tonight, Lucifer. Thanks."

"You're very welcome. Back to the grind tomorrow, hmm?" Lucifer asks as he lowers his arms and slides down further on the bed, watching her for a moment. "Do you think you'll stay over there tonight? Because if you're just going to end up over here next to me again, you might as well start off that way." He points out, resting one of his hands on his stomach, stretching out the other arm toward Chloe to allow her to cuddle up if she wants.

Blushing a little as she thinks about her night time wandering, Chloe considers the man before her for a moment. Yeah, there's a very good chance that she is going to end up next to him in the night. She does very much enjoy cuddling in general, and she's always been the type to cuddle at night. Huffing a little as she looks at Lucifer, she rolls her eyes for a moment, trying to resist the inevitable. "Fine." She grumbles before she scoots over until she's laying at his side, hesitating for a moment before she settles down and leans against him, putting one arm across his stomach and resting her head on his warm chest. She hates how comfortable it is. She loves how comfortable he is. "Thank you." She mumbles, not sure if she's thanking him for being understanding, or for letting her cuddle.

Smirking a little smugly when Chloe moves over, Lucifer shifts just a bit closer to her side of the bed as well before he wraps one arm around her, his free hand resting on the arm she lays over his stomach. "My pleasure." He murmurs softly, before he gasps and jerks in surprise when her toes brush his legs. "Bloody hell, Detective, your feet are freezing!" He exclaims, staring at his Detective in surprise, since he didn't think his floors were cold, but he very rarely walks around in bare feet.

"Sorry. Your floors are cold." Chloe giggles a little as she defends herself, and she can't help the small grin on her face at his very normal reaction to her cold feet. Which only makes her want to press them against his legs all the more. She shifts a little once more to get fully comfortable before she relaxes. "Goodnight, Lucifer." she finally says with a little smile.

"Hope Maze bought you some socks." Lucifer teases, before he reaches over and turns off the light, turning his head to look out his windows at the city for a moment. "Goodnight, Chloe." He murmurs as he looks down at her, returning his hand to rest over her arm. He can't sleep at first, still not particularly tired since it's still so early in the evening for him, so he just savors the feeling of Chloe against him, her soft breath brushing his skin, and her warm body against his. It's been less than a day since he woke up with Chloe against him, and even now he can't imagine what his bed will feel like once it's empty and cold again. How will he sleep without Chloe's scent and warmth next to him? Letting out a small sigh, he looks down at her hair. "Stay. Please." He whispers to her, his voice cracking before he swallows past a sudden lump in his throat and finally closes his eyes to try and force himself to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**So I had sort of a sucky week. Threfore, I'm uploading another chapter in the hopes that it might make one of you smile or improve someone's day. It's about the only thing I can do. Lookin' at you, NewLight 30. Hope you guys enjoy, thanks for continuing to read!**

**Comments/Reviews welcome!**

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By the time Lucifer wakes up in the morning, Chloe is gone, and he has a moment of panic before he notices that the sun is up already and simultaneously hears the shower going. Sighing a little in relief, he slowly gets up and finds his robe to pull it on as he heads out into the main room, stretching a little and smiling as he remembers the night before. He's not surprised that his Detective would sneak off to get a shower after remembering the night before. She wouldn't want to face him right away. So typically Chloe. He grins as he walks over to the bar, leaving his robe loosely open as he pours himself a drink. No need to take away the view for Chloe.

A little surprised when he hears the elevator ding, Lucifer nearly chokes on his drink when he sees who steps out into his penthouse. "Mum!" He says sharply, putting his drink down and closing his robe up quickly. "What are you doing here?" He asks, demeanor shifting a little in the presence of his mother as he glances back toward the bathroom warily. Chloe cannot see his mother ( in Charlotte Richard's body) in his penthouse.

"I just came to see you, son. I told you I wanted to be a part of your life." Charlotte points out as she walks over to him and touches his cheek lightly, a little amused. "You're such a mess, did you just wake up?" She asks in amusement as she brushes a hand through his hair to try and smooth it down.

Jerking away from her touch, especially such an intimate one, Lucifer holds up his hand to stop her and shakes his head. "No. You cannot just come in here unannounced, mother." He says sharply, glancing behind him again. "I have company, and I will have, for the next few days at least. She cannot see you here. You have to go." He says as he points toward the elevator.

"That is ridiculous, Lucifer. I haven't been here long, but it's obvious you don't /have/ house guests. Ever." Charlotte points out, not moving from her spot as she looks her son over for a moment. "Who is it? You should introduce me." She says with a slightly forced grin.

With a slightly desperate groan, Lucifer takes his mother by the arms and turns her toward the elevator. "Yes, well, it's the Detective. Her house burned down, so she's staying here. Her child will be here tonight as well. Two very good reasons for you to leave. I can't introduce you, mum, she already knows who you are." He says in a frustrated tone as he tries to move his mother back to the elevator.

Breaking away from Lucifer's hold with a few swats of her hands, Charlotte shakes her head a little. "Well if it's her, then I must meet her properly, Lucifer. It's only right that I meet the woman who has captured my son's heart." She points out softly with a smile as she puts her hand on Lucifer's cheek again. Because at this point everyone but Chloe and Lucifer know Lucifer is in love with Chloe.

Swatting his mother's hand away, Lucifer is genuinely freaking out a little at this point. "As what, mother?" He asks in exasperation. "She's human. She doesn't believe I'm the Devil, much less that there's a divine Goddess. She doesn't even believe in Father." He points out, then adds, "And you don't exactly look like you could be my mum." He points out as he motions to her body, while keeping his eyes firmly on her face.

"Lucifer?" Chloe asks as she emerges from the bathroom only to see the bed empty. Apparently she snuck off and got her clothes for the day before retreating to the shower, because she's dressed as she comes around the doorway and sees Charlotte Richards standing in front of Lucifer, who is in a robe. A Lucifer that looks strangely freaked out. Which of course makes Chloe suspicious. "Sorry. I didn't realize you were expecting anyone this morning, Lucifer." She says with a small frown.

"Detective!" Lucifer says with false cheer, giving his mother slight glare before he takes a few steps toward Chloe. "I assure you, I wasn't expecting anyone, Charlotte was just leaving." He reassures, then he adds, "I merely came to get a drink once I found that you had a-" He cuts himself off and then glances at Charlotte again. "Had already gotten up." He finishes his sentence, though obviously not in the way he had planned.

Apparently making a decision, Charlotte smiles a little and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Detective." She says as she looks at her. "I had just stopped by to see if Lucifer wanted to get some breakfast." She holds up her hands in a slightly placating gesture. "Lucifer has been telling me that I might be causing something of a misunderstanding." She says with a small chuckle. "You see.. Lucifer is my son." She explains, then smiles and rolls her eyes a little. "Well, step-son I suppose. I didn't even know he was in LA until that case. His father and I have been estranged for a long time after the divorce, and I just.. wanted to spend some time with him again. He's grown into such a fine man." She says with a fond smile at Lucifer. At least the motherly affection doesn't need to be faked.

Clearly suspicious, Chloe crosses her arms over her chest as she looks between the two. But given how Lucifer talks about his family and his discomfort whenever she implies that he might be sleeping with Charlotte, it sort of makes sense. Even if they do look closer to the same age, there's no faking that sort of affection. "Lucifer, you should have just told me that in the first place." She says with a little bit of exasperation. "Go, have breakfast with your stepmother. I can make it to the station by myself." She reassures as she looks at him.

"Absolutely not, Detective. We might have a case. Charlotte has to learn to /call/ before just showing up in my flat." Lucifer says with a slight glare at Charlotte. "Good seeing you, mum, but would you please leave now?" He asks as he motions her toward the elevator.

"I didn't mean to cause any problems, Lucifer." Charlotte says with a small shake of her head. "We'll talk later." She says with a nod. "Nice seeing you again, Detective." She says with a slight wave before she heads toward the elevator and steps inside with another slight wave.

Lucifer waits until the elevator doors close and he lets out a slow breath. That was a disaster narrowly avoided. "I told you I wasn't sleeping with her." He points out as he looks at Chloe, taking a few steps closer to her. "I did feel a bit abandoned this morning though. You're very sneaky, Detective." He says with a little smirk as he tries to forget that awkward situation.

"You didn't have to do that, Lucifer. I guess you don't really get along with most of your family, huh?" Chloe asks as she looks at him, very much wanting to know more from Charlotte now, maybe she can give her some insights into Lucifer. She puts a hand on his arm gently and gives it a little squeeze before she shrugs. "I woke up early, and you looked peaceful. I didn't want to wake you." She explains as she looks at him. Of course, she was also a little embarrassed after remembering the way she kissed him last night, knowing it's too much to hope that he has forgotten it. "Day two, Lucifer." She smirks a little. "If you're coming with me, then hurry up. I want to grab breakfast on the way into the station."

"Mmm. Such a temptress." Lucifer says playfully with a smile before he nods and turns to head back up into the bedroom, shedding his robe as he walks. A quick shower and a change later, Lucifer comes out and he glances around for Chloe, walking over to stand half behind her where she's looking out the window. "Did you sleep well, Detective?" He asks in a quiet tone with a little smirk. "Stay put all night?" he teases slightly.

Chloe jumps a little when Lucifer speaks, not having heard him come up. "I am gonna put a freakin' bell on you." She mutters under her breath before taking a deep breath and answering properly. "I did, and I slept fine, Lucifer. What about you?" she asks as she turns, taking a slight step away from him to look up at his face.

Ahhh. Back into true 'Detective' mode, Lucifer observes as he looks at Chloe. "Like a rock." He reassures with a little smirk. "Shall we?" He asks as he motions toward the elevator. "Where would you like to stop for breakfast, then? One of those horrid little sandwich shops no doubt." He muses with a little shake of his head as he walks smoothly over to the elevator and presses the button before turning to look at Chloe. Alright, if she wants to remain professional while they are in work mode, he can do that. Well, for the most part. At least as much as he ever has been. He'll at least try not to reference her sleeping in his bed or staying at his penthouse. Since she doesn't want anyone to think they're sleeping together. Even though they are. At least in the most literal of senses.

Smiling a little as she follows Lucifer, Chloe shakes her head. "My secret. You're just going to have to follow my directions, Lucifer. Trust me. You liked the last place I brought you to." She reminds him as she steps onto the elevator and waits for him to bring them down to the garage.

**~oOo~**

Lucifer has to agree with Chloe about the breakfast place, as much as he would have liked it to be some sketchy little dive, it was rather good, even if it was a walk-up establishment. They enter the precinct together since Lucifer had to drive, and he looks around at everything for a few moments, "I imagine you'll want to speak to the Lieutenant." He muses thoughtfully as he follows Chloe who is very much in 'work mode.'

"Yeah." Chloe nods and sips her coffee. "So just.. stay here and try and stay out of trouble." She says as she points to a chair by her desk. "I want to see if the fire investigation has figured out how the fire started, too." She adds as she briefly stops to look through the messages on her desk, as well as a few cards and a vase of flowers.

Plucking the card out of the flowers, Lucifer opens it and frowns a little as he reads."I'm here if you need anything.. Dan." He wrinkles his nose in distaste. "No need to stoop that low." He mutters as he tosses the card toward the trash.

"Lucifer!" Chloe scolds with a disapproving look. Even if she shares his sentiment, she can't let him think he can get away with that sort of behavior. Not that Lucifer listens to anyone, much less her. She sighs in exasperation but lets the card be tossed into the trash. "Are you going to be able to handle sitting here and behaving yourself?" She asks, using a bit of the same tone she uses with Trixie sometimes.

"You could always take me with you if you're worried, I could be useful if the Lieutenant gives you a hard time." Lucifer points out with a smug little smile, before he gracefully sits down and unbuttons his suit jacket in one smooth gesture. Looking up at Chloe from what some people – people who don't know Lucifer Morningstar – might consider a more submissive position, he calmly folds his hands in his lap as he waits for an answer.

One hand on her hips, the other covering her eyes for a moment, Chloe pinches the bridge of her nose and does her best not to smile at the overly innocent expression on Lucifer's face. "No. I can handle the Lieutenant, you stay here. I mean it, behave." She insists, pointing one finger at him before she puts her hand briefly on his shoulder as she walks past him. An unusual move for her when she would normally be raising her voice and yelling at her partner, not touching him in what could be perceived as an almost affectionate gesture.

"Yes, ma'am." Lucifer teases as he tilts his head back a little to watch her after glancing at her hand on his shoulder. Well, that's new, and he quite likes it. It seems the Detective can't turn off how their bond has strengthened in the last day they spent together, fairly exclusively. Feeling fairly smug, Lucifer watches Chloe walk away before picking a fuzz off his pants for a moment as he looks around the department slowly, sighing as he feels an unpleasant presence approach from behind him.

"Is Chloe back already?" Dan asks as he looks around at everything, presumably trying to find Chloe before he turns to look at Lucifer disapprovingly, hands on his hips to try and project confidence.

"Well yes, Daniel. Why else would I be sitting here? I certainly wouldn't do it for the fun." Lucifer points out as he looks at the man in front of him. "She needs to get her badge and gun re-issued anyway, plus she wanted a report on how the fire started. She's with the Lieutenant." He explains as if that should be obvious. "I assume young Beatrice was delivered to school safely?" He asks skeptically as he looks at the man in front of him.

"Since when did you care about Trixie?" Dan asks sharply as he looks at Lucifer, frowning a little down at the other man, enjoying having what he perceives as the upper hand with him standing over Lucifer, when normally the other man has the height advantage.

"I've never been mean or cruel to the child." Lucifer says in his defense, before he adds. "She is, however, very important to the Detective, and they will be residing in my Penthouse for the foreseeable future. The Detective is my partner, so if something is truly important to her it should matter to me as well." He points out as he sits back a little more and shifts the positioning of his elbows.

Looking like he wants to say something particularly scathing, Dan shifts his feet a little before apparently deciding silence is the better path here. At least for any snarking remarks. "Yeah, we'll see about that. That is not a suitable place for a kid." He says in a firm tone, feeling as if he's in the right there, and maybe puffing up a bit in a typical Alpha display. "Your partnership with Chloe never seemed to matter to you before. You still did whatever the hell you wanted and treated Trixie like she had some sort of disease." He's not a saint, obviously, so Dan can't help the slightly angry tone to his voice from his jealousy.

"I beg your pardon." Lucifer says in a sightly offended way. "There is nothing about my penthouse that would be unsuitable for a child Trixie's age. It's got an extensive library, a pool, albeit that is a bit small, and a television. There is a suitable room for her, as well." He looks genuinely perplexed as to Dan's estimation of his living situation as being unsuitable in some way. "If you're speaking of Lux, surely Beatrice is capable of knowing she is not to go down in the evenings without either the Detective or I with her. Honestly, you seem to have a low estimation of her intelligence." Twisting Dan's comments around with a certain amount of glee, he continues to sit there calmly and watch the Douche, not feeling the least bit intimidated when he knows he could snap the man's neck like a twig. Even with the Detective around. "As for your other accusations, yes, perhaps I have been a little inconsiderate, but I have seen a different side to the Detective since the fire." He says thoughtfully as he looks past Dan to where Chloe is in the Lieutenant's office "As for my treatment of Trixie, I am equally as uncomfortable with unfamiliar affection from either adults or children. I find hugs somewhat suspicious, and Beatrice seems to be rather fond of attaching herself to me like some sort of octopus." He points out, shaking his head a little as he thinks about the young girl who has taken an unreasonable liking to him. Most of the time children instinctively keep him at arm's length as if sensing he is somehow bad or impure, but Trixie seems to be the exact opposite. Very confusing for the Devil.

"Excuse me?" Dan asks a little louder than he meant when Lucifer accuses him of underestimating Trixie, starting to get really pissed off now and glaring at Lucifer. "You know what, I don't know what your deal is, man, if you're insane or just some sort of pervert, but I don't want you anywhere near my daughter. I don't even know why Chloe puts up with you and your craziness. I'm really starting to doubt her judgment." He says with clear disapproval, one foot tapping a little with contained energy.

In one smooth movement, Lucifer is on his feet and in front of Dan, the expression on his face dangerous as he leans down toward Detective Douche a little. "Think what you will of me. Insult me if it appeases your tiny little ego. But know two things, /Daniel/." He emphasizes the man's name to make sure he has his attention. "One, I would never, /ever/ hurt a being as innocent as a /child/ who has done nothing wrong in the entirety of her short life." He starts in a low, dangerous tone that is almost a hiss, holding up one finger sharply just to watch the man twitch. "And two, do not ever, /ever/ insult Chloe. She would never dream of being late to pick her daughter up." He takes a step forward, forcing Dan to step backward. "She would never use Beatrice as a bargaining chip. Or use her to manipulate /anyone/." Another step. "She would never put her daughter in danger the way you did when you worked with Malcolm." He puts both hands in his pockets but somehow it doesn't lessen the aura of danger coming off of Lucifer as he backs Dan across the bullpen one step at a tim. "You should thank you lucky stars you have any parental rights at all. I am sure the Detective would be well within her rights to argue for full custody, given your recent transgressions." He nearly growls as he looks at Dan. "You are a sperm donor, an occasional babysitter, and one of the biggest sources of stress for the Detective. That does not make you a father. That does not give you the right to /use/ your child for your own gain. Think of that before you spew your poisonous venom, you foul snake." He's breathing a little harder now as his anger rises, and he very narrowly avoids letting Daniel see the depths of Hellfire in his eyes.

"Lucifer." It's not a command, there's no sharpness to the word as it comes from Chloe, who can feel tears pricking her eyes. She was too stunned at the display in front of her when she came out of the Lieutenant's office to react at first, but when she sees Lucifer genuinely becoming angry, she knows she has to interfere. She's not the only one who has been watching either, they've got quite a crowd. When her partner doesn't immediately react, Chloe carefully approaches him, putting her hand on his arm genetly. "Lucifer. It's ok. Come on." She pleads softly as she wraps her hand around his bicep and gives him a little tug away from Dan and everyone else in general.

Just like that, hearing his name from the lips of his personal angel, Lucifer's anger starts to drain from him, but he stays where he is, glaring at Dan who looks like he's about to piss himself. The Detective's hand on his arm finally breaks the spell though, and his shoulders sag as his body releases its tension and anger. Turning his head hesitantly, Lucifer looks at Chloe for a moment, indifferent mask in place. He nods slowly before he glances at Dan one last time and turns more fully toward Chloe. "Lead on, Detective." He says in a much calmer tone as he tugs his cuffs down a little, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

Still a little worried about Lucifer, Chloe keeps a hold on his arm gently as she leads him away from bullpen, the rubberneckers getting out of their way easily. Finding the nearest supply close, Chloe opens the door and nudges Lucifer inside before she glances back at the room, hearing one of the officers tell Dan. "What did you expect, man. You know Lucifer has a bit of a hair trigger when it comes to Detective Decker. Dude is totally in love with her."

When Chloe finally steps into the supply closet and closes the door, Lucifer seems to be a little more collected, even if he won't fully meet Chloe's eyes. "I certainly hope you brought me in here for a snogging session." He smiles a little, but the flirting falls flat even to his ears.

Shaking her head for a few moments, Chloe steps up to Lucifer, looking up into his eyes for a moment and placing a hand on either side of his face slowly, thumbs stroking his cheek before she reaches up and pulls him in for a hug. "Thank you, Lucifer." She mumbles softly as she hugs him.

Confused and uncertain since he can't tell if Chloe is happy or mad, Lucifer stays still as he looks at her. He's hopeful for a kiss of course, and despite her track record, is still surprised when he gets a hug instead. Slowly, he puts his arms around Chloe and pulls her close to his body. "You're very welcome." He murmurs as he holds her as long as she stays close to him. "I was merely reminding the Douche of the truth though." He adds as if he didn't do anything particularly special. "How much did you hear?" He finally asks, feeling a little nervous for some unknown reason. Exposed. That's not something he's used to and he's struggling to pull up his usual persona.

"I heard enough." Chloe says vaguely as she holds Lucifer, stroking her hand through his hair lightly for a moment. Partially for her own comfort so she doesn't get all emotional over some of the stuff Lucifer said. More importantly though, she does it to soothe Lucifer, try to make sure he's calmed down. "You don't need to defend my honor though, Lucifer. I'm not some damsel in distress." She reminds him, not wanting him to think he needs to defend her.

Dropping his head to Chloe's shoulder slowly, Lucifer lets out a small sigh as he enjoys the bit of petting. "Of course not, Detective." He reassures in a soft tone. "You didn't hear what he was saying, though. He implied I was a pervert, and then questioned your judgment just because we're partners. If I had waited I'm sure he would have threatened to use Beatrice to get me out of both your lives." He says with a bit of his previous anger and some frustration, but also a slightly pouty/whiny quality, like a child or a teenager who doesn't understand why they're in trouble because they don't see what's wrong with their reaction or justifications.

Smiling a little at the rest of the room, Chloe looks upward for a moment as she continues to stroke Lucifer's hair soothingly. "He can say whatever he wants, there's no judge that would give him full custody. And you're right, if he keeps pulling stuff like that, I /will/ file for full custody." She grumbles slightly. "You may have overreacted just a little though." She points out, a bit amused as she finally pulls back from the hug to look up into his eyes. "Are you ok now? Feeling better?" She asks, brushing her fingertips back from his temple through his hair before she brings it up to rest it on his cheek.

Straightening up a little when Chloe moves back, Lucifer keeps his hands on her waist for a few moments as he nods slowly and smiles slightly. "Yes. Quite." He reassures as he looks down at her, tilting his head ever so slightly into her hand before clearing his throat. "What did the Lieutenant say?" He finally asks, releasing Chloe's waist slowly.

Dropping her hand from Lucifer's face, Chloe nods a little in understanding when he distances himself from her. This is work, afterall. "I'm already being issued a new badge, I'll have to make do with police ID until I get it. There'll be no cases for another day or two." she says with a little bit of frustration. "I should be getting the arson report faxed to me though." She says with a small nod of her head.

"And your keys?" Lucifer asks with a slight arch of an eyebrow, though that is one thing he would prefer the Detective wait a little longer for. Yes, most of the time he is riding with Chloe when she goes on cases and the like, but there is a small part of him that prefers to drive her around. Something he might have found tedious at one time not that long ago.

"Oh yeah. It'll be a few days for that, too.. sorry, I know it must be a pain to have to drive me everywhere." Chloe doesn't even ask if she could drive herself, she knows how much Lucifer likes his Corvette, she doubts he would ever let anyone else drive it.

"Not at all." Lucifer reassures with a little smile. "I quite enjoy it. I'm entirely at your disposal, Detective. Just say the word." Fully recovered it seems, he looks Chloe over suggestively, smile broadening and he runs his tongue along the inside of his lower lip.

Relieved that he seems to be back to normal, Chloe giggles a little and shakes her head a little. "Yeah. You're good." She pats his chest briefly, still amused by his suggestions since a lot of time they sound like horrible pickup lines. "Come on." she finally says as she turns to step out of the closet, briefly glancing behind her before she heads toward her desk.

Everything seems to have gone back to business as usual, though Lucifer does get a few curious looks and at least two separate thumbs up from officers nearby. Which just confuses Lucifer. He's not sure that he should be congratulated for anything. "If we're not allowed to go out on cases, what will we do?" He asks as he settles back into the chair next to Chloe's desk, turning his head to watch her.

Sighing a little as well as she sits down in her chair, Chloe glances around to make sure Dan isn't anywhere nearby before she sorts through a few of the cards she got, smiling a little and setting most of them aside. "Well, there's still paperwork to be done, and depending on what the arson report says, I might need to call my insurance company." She smiles as she looks over at Lucifer. "Nothing exciting, unless you're going to finally help with the paperwork for our cases."

"I suppose I could be persuaded. Since I don't have any more pressing matters." Lucifer sighs a little as if it's a great burden to have to do paperwork of all things. He reaches over and plucks a pen out of her little holder though and looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "Where should I begin?" He asks as he straightens a little in his chair and turns toward the desk.

"Do you even know how to do any of this?" Chloe asks as she motions to the folder she had just opened in front of her.

"Just because I choose not to do something, Detective, doesn't mean I'm not capable. I can do paperwork, it's just so bloody boring." Lucifer complains as he snatches the folder from her, glancing it over to see what it is before he goes to work.

For a moment Chloe just watches Lucifer work, somewhat bemused while still being really annoyed with him for never helping before if he knew how. Sighing , she shakes her head a little before she gets to her own work. A few hours pass in surprising silence between a few questions passed back and forth to try and jog the others' memories about a case, or to try to make sure they have a detail right. Chloe puts her pen down and leans back after the second hour, tilting her head back a little and rubbing at her shoulders a little. "I can't believe how much we've gotten done." She muses as she looks at the piles of folders.

Looking up from the notes he was making, Lucifer does a little bit of a doubletake as he looks at his partner. Seeing the state she's in, he quickly puts down his pen and rises. "Yes, well, hopefully we will be done soon. Let me, Detective." He says as he moves behind her and swats her hands away, sweeping her hair up to drape it over one of her shoulders before he starts to gently rub her shoulders, working the tension and the knots out of them. "Perhaps it's time for a bit of a break. You should check and see if your arson report is in." He offers, though doesn't remove his hands, focusing on his task as his thumbs rub up her neck a few times before he moves back down to her shoulders.

Biting back a moan at how good Lucifer's hands feel, Chloe drops her head forward instead as she closes her eyes. "Mmm. Yeah. A break is good." She decides, sighing a little as she relaxes. "That feels amazing, Lucifer. Something else you're good at." She mumbles with a bit of amusement. She doesn't really want to move until Lucifer is done though so she lifts her head a little. "I'll check it in a minute."

Smirking with amusement as he watches Chloe's reactions, Lucifer continues his gentle massage, paying close attention to tension spots and any possible knots. A small part of his mind chirps up with the many ways he could make this sensual, but he pushes them aside. This is about making the Detective feel better so they can continue on with their work. He finally runs his thumbs from Chloe's neck down and out along her shoulders gently before he rests his hands on the outside of her shoulders. "Better?" he asks before he steps aside to return to his seat.

Lifting her head and rolling her shoulders a little, Chloe nods and she smiles a little over at Lucifer. "Yeah, thanks." She says sincerely as she looks at him, before she reaches forward to check her email and see if the report is there. "They sent the report over." She says as she glances at Lucifer, clicking through to open it up.

Rolling his chair around the corner of the desk, Lucifer leans forward a little to read the report over her shoulder and he frowns a little. "Am I reading this correctly?" He asks, trying to keep his voice level as his anger rises. "The fire was set deliberately?" He asks in a soft, flat tone which is all the more dangerous for it.

Frowning a little in shock, Chloe re-reads the report twice before Lucifer's words penetrate her fog of emotions. "Yeah, that's what they think." She says slowly before she points. "Look.. they think it was set here, by the kitchen. Right below my bedroom." She says before she glances at Lucifer for a moment. "If I didn't have fire alarms, if I hadn't heard them and woken up..." She trails off with a small shudder as she stares at the screen. "I don't get it. I know we've put away some pretty bad people, and I put away a bunch of people before that, but none of them should know where I live. I don't own the property, my name isn't attached to it at all except through my mother. And it's like someone wanted to stay away from Trixie's room." There are very few things that actually scare Detective Chloe Decker anymore, and besides potentially losing her child – which definitely tops her list – having someone stalking her or knowing her enough to know where she lives and exactly where to start a fire in her home, scares her to her core.

Turning her head a little to look at Lucifer with wide eyes, Chloe tries to get her chaotic thoughts in order for a few moments. "This was a pro job, Lucifer." She finally decides as she looks at him.


	8. Chapter 8

Dun dun duuuunnn. Plot! Slightly less fluffiness going forward, slightly more angst. Hope you're all enjoying everything so far! And thank you for the lovely reviews!

Reviews/Comments welcome!

* * *

_Turning her head a little to look at Lucifer with wide eyes, Chloe tries to get her chaotic thoughts in order for a few moments. "This was a pro job, Lucifer." She finally decides as she looks at him._

The only thing keeping Lucifer in his seat at that moment is the look on his Detective's face. The only other time he's seen true fear in her eyes was when she was facing down Malcolm, presumably seconds away from her own death. It cuts him to the core to see her feeling so unsafe. "You'll stay at Lux until we have this sorted." He says in a firm tone as he watches her. "No one can get to my penthouse without permission. And short of a rocket launcher or some other ridiculous weapon, no one can get to it from the ground." He reassures as he takes one of her hands in both of his, giving it a little squeeze. "We will find who is responsible for this, Detective. We always do." He reassures with a soft smile as he tries to comfort her, even though that's sort of outside of his realm of experience.

Focusing on the man in front of her and listening to his already soothing tones, Chloe nods firmly before she takes a deep breath, giving his hand a squeeze. "Yeah. That's a good idea. Trixie will be safe there." Her first thought as always for her child, Chloe forces a small smile, closing her eyes briefly. "Alright. If this were a normal investigation, I would be asking about enemies. I'll have to make a list. I think we can count anyone who has gone to prison because of me in the last few years. We can check and see if any of them have gotten out of prison. I mean, I guess someone could have hired someone else to do this, but this seems really personal. Whoever did this wanted to destroy /me/. Not Trixie. So either they have a soft spot for kids in general, or they know her specifically." She thinks for a moment before pulling her hand away from Lucifer to turn back to her desk, grabbing her notebook to start making a list.

"Excellent idea, Detective." Lucifer says before he stands, tugging the two sides of his jacket together. "While you do that, I'll go get us some coffee from that place down the block you like." He doesn't even wait for Chloe to respond before he turns and is striding for the door, anger surfacing again as he pulls out his phone and dials Maze's number. He barely glances at anyone as he heads out of the precinct and heads for his care. "Maze." He says when she picks up, "The fire at Detective's home was not an accident." No need for any preamble.

"What? You mean someone went after Decker intentionally?" Maze asks, not sure whether to be pissed or confused. She finally settles on the side of angry as she takes in her master's general tone of voice and clipped manner of speaking. Even as she feels a wonderful chill slide up her spine, a predatory grin spreads across her face. There's going to be some serious punishment dealt to whoever tried to hurt Decker. No one messes with what Lucifer considers his. And he's made it quite clear in his own way that Chloe and Trixie are included in that.

"Yes. That's precisely what it means, Mazikeen." Lucifer snaps as he slides into his car. "Chloe and I are investigating from the mortal side of things but I want you to investigate, see what you can find out. It seems as if our perpetrator was going solely after the Detective. Not only did they know where she lives, but they knew where she sleeps. The fire started in the kitchen under her bedroom. On the opposite side of the house from young Beatrice's bedroom. Seems quite deliberate."

Silently listening, Maze smirks a little. "I'd love to find this scumbag." She seems to relish the thought of a hunt. "Not too far from her gas stove, too. Her stove isn't on an outside wall, so it would be harder to get to the gas lines. Could have something to do with it." She offers a theory that she knows he might not have thought about it. Lucifer is many things, but being devious has always been her specialty.

"I'm glad we understand eachother" Lucifer says as he drives toward the coffee shop. "If you find out who did it, inform me first. This one I want to take care of personally." He says in a dark, dangerous tone with a growl behind his words.

"Of course, Lucifer." Maze says obediently, grinning with something akin to glee. Her Master is finally back after spending so much time with his Detective. And here she thought he might have been going soft. "Do you have any other information?" She asks as she mentally goes over what she's been given so far.

There's silence for a few moments as Lucifer thinks as well. "Chloe seems to think it is a professional job. I disagree. Her fire alarms woke her, and the fire didn't climb the building fast enough, it spread along the first story long enough to allow the Detective to get up and get Beatrice out of the house. Either that is very sloppy, or very deliberate." He sounds a little concerned which it could be. "Oh. And the Detective and her daughter will be staying with me for the foreseeable future. It's much safer for them there."

"Understood. I'll start looking immediately." Maze reassures. She may have tried to make her break from Lucifer as far as not living with him anymore and find her own place here on Earth, but when it comes down to it, if he truly needs her for something like this, she knows she'll always come. If for no other reason than their shared history and that Lucifer is her maker. She literally wouldn't exist if it weren't for him. And she loves a good hunt.

Another moment of silence as Lucifer pulls into the lot outside the coffee shop. "Thank you, Maze." He says uncharacteristically, trying to do his best not to take advantage of her again, especially when she's trying so hard to find her place. Something he surprisingly respects.

"No problem, this sounds like fun. I'll call when I have something." Maze says before she hangs up.

Looking his phone for a moment, Lucifer smirks a little. Ah, Mazikeen. Surely one of his finest creations. So confident, and with good cause. He is looking forward to giving the person responsible for this a little Hell on Earth. His anger somewhat appeased for the moment, Lucifer gets out of his car to go inside the shop and get Chloe her preferred coffee, as well as one of the little lemon cakes she only prefers during particularly difficult cases or if she's had a bad day. When it comes to Chloe, the Devil considers himself quite the expert, even if he's never felt the need to use that knowledge before.

Although Chloe seems to have made a good list by the time Lucifer gets back, she doesn't look happy, glancing up briefly as the coffee appears in front of her. "Oh. Thanks." She mumbles softly as she looks back at her computer.

Settling down into his chair again, Lucifer watches his partner before taking a drink of his coffee. "I'm guessing no luck yet? No miscreants let loose to wander the streets again?" He asks curiously as he looks at Chloe, unable to contain a smile. Though this certainly puts a damper on his hopes that another intimate moment might arise before they have to retrieve the spawn. However, it does make it a great deal easier for him to win their little bet. Not that he had any illusions that he could withhold from sex for three simple days.

"No." Chloe sits back, frustrated as she finally reaches out for her coffee to take a drink. "I never thought I'd be so disappointed that the perps we put away are actually staying in jail." Sighing a little, Chloe looks at her coffee for a moment, taking another drink, more thoughtfully as she glances at her partner. She seems to be trying to figure out something as she watches him.

"Perhaps this will help alleviate some of your anxiety." Lucifer offers as he puts the small brown bag down on her desk. Meeting her gaze with his own dark one, he lifts one eyebrow slowly in question. "Something on your mind, detective? Besides the arson, that is." He muses as he takes another drink of his coffee without breaking her gaze.

"Nothing." Chloe mumbles as she decides not to think too hard about the things that Lucifer has been coming up with lately Her favorite coffee shop, the exact way and exact type of coffee she likes, and apparently her stress-eating food. Which she realizes after she opens the bag to take out the lemon cake. She takes a bite of it and relaxes back in her chair as she gives Lucifer another curious look, needing something to take her mind off the potential danger to herself and Trixie, just for a moment.

Lucifer can't help but grin a little more broadly as he sees Chloe staring at him again. "Are you sure? Are you perhaps remembering last night, or just admiring me in general?" He asks, voice low as he sits up and leans toward Chloe, leaning on the corner of her desk a little with an amused but interested expression.

Blinking a few times, it takes a moment before Chloe can think of what he must mean. And of course as soon as she does, she blushes a little as she watches him. "No, that is not what I was thinking of, and we're not discussing that right now." She hisses slightly as she leans toward him, holding up one warning finger toward him.

Of course, her reaction only encourages the Devil, who grins at his Detective. "Ohhh.. Are we a little sensitive about that? I seem to remember you reacting in a very similar fashion the first time you spent the night at Lux. Nothing to be ashamed of, Detective. I quite enjoyed m'self." Lucifer keeps his voice low to keep anyone from eavesdropping easily as he lays one arm over the desk with his hand hanging over the edge so his fingers can very casually brush against Chloe's leg.

There is no way for Chloe to slap away Lucifer's hand without drawing attention to what he's doing, so she just glares at him a little. "I.. am not /ashamed/, Lucifer. I'm a little embarrassed maybe, but only because I keep getting intoxicated around you and doing ridiculous things." She keeps her voice equally as soft, continuing to watch him disapprovingly, which is not an uncommon expression for her to have around Lucifer, so the officers passing by figure it's business as usual between the two.

Continuing to smile rather smugly at Chloe while he brushes his fingers again lightly along the outside of Chloe's thigh, Lucifer shakes his head slowly. "Hardly ridiculous. And you were most definitely not drunk last night. I rather enjoyed myself, and I know you did too." He pauses, considering his partner. "If you want to stop being so impulsive when you are impaired by alcohol, perhaps you should consider following your desires when you are sober." He points out, tauntingly arching an eyebrow as he watches her, leaning ever so slightly closer, his eyes flickering down to linger on her lips for a moment before he looks up at her wide eyes.

"Lucifer." Chloe says firmly as she looks at him. "This is not the place to have this conversation. And we have slightly more pressing matters." She says as she shifts away from him and his hand a little, pulling herself closer to her desk though she does pop another bite of her lemon cake.

Disappointed that the moment is over, Lucifer slowly sits back and pulls his arm away to pick up his coffee again and take a drink. "Pity. We'll continue this conversation later, Detective. I promise, and I'm a Devil of my word." He says a little playfully as he grins at her. He did achieve his goal though. He distracted his Detective for a few minutes, got her to focus on something else other than what was causing her stress. And despite how annoyed she seemed to be with him and slightly flustered by the conversation, he can tell from her body language that she's less tense now, and a little more relaxed. Which helps her think better. She thinks he's flirty and incorrigible sometimes just because that's who he is, and sometimes it's true. Sometimes, he can tell that a particular crime scene hits Chloe hard, and she needs something to allow her to maintain her professional detachment. Which is when Lucifer is at his most charming.

Looking over at Lucifer for a moment, Chloe just rolls her eyes a little, but there's a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she tries to go back to going through her list of possible suspects.

It's not long before Lucifer gets slightly bored, playing with his phone a little as the time passes, Chloe very focused on her work, which means the Devil is left to his own devices, as he often is. He can't help but look around the bullpen, smirking a little as he sees a few of the female officers side-eyeing him. And at least one male officer, he notices. While it would be rather fun to flirt with one of them, he is trying to prove to Chloe that he could possibly be relationship-worthy. While he has no experience with relationships, he does know that flirting with someone else is not something a good boyfriend candidate should do.

Sighing a little, Lucifer glances over at the very focused Detective again before he looks around again. This time something does catch his eye, but not something good. "I'll be right back." He says to Chloe distractedly before he gets up and glances around before he walks over toward his mother who dismisses the human she was talking to when he gets closer. "Mum, what are you doing here?" He asks in a frustrated an slightly angry tone, grabbing her upper arm to guide her away from the view of the bullpen and more specifically, Chloe.

"Well, we didn't get to talk this morning. I wanted to see you.. And I needed to get away from that horrible husband." She shudders a little as she thinks of him. "So, How did things go with the Detective this morning after I left? Was my excuse suitable?" Charlotte asks as she looks at her son curiously. She at least seems interested if not a little bit excited about her son's relationship with the Detective. Always a cause for suspicion.

Frowning briefly at his mother, Lucifer shakes his head and releases her, putting his hands in his pockets to try and keep some semblance of control. "Yes, unfortunately she did believe you. It just undermined what I keep telling her. Which is the truth, that I am the Devil. It's a bit harder to explain you. My mum possessing the formerly dead body of Charlotte Richards." He whispers firmly as he looks at her, then he waves one of his hands dismissively. "We have bigger issues right now than explaining our relationship, mum." He says with a worried glance over at where Chloe sits.

Charlotte looks over at her for a moment and she sighs, "You could just show her. Surely she would believe her own eyes." She says as if it's obvious, rolling her eyes a little. "What issues, Lucifer? What's wrong?" She asks as she watches him, reaching out to put a hand on his arm since she seems to dislike her touching his face in public, though she doesn't understand why.

"The Detective's house burned down. Her and her child were unharmed, but we've just found out the fire is deliberate." Lucifer explains, then he straightens up and looks over at his mother. "Did you have something to do with that?" He asks suspiciously, not willing to put anything past his mother.

Shaking her head for a few moments, Charlotte huffs a little as she gives Lucifer a look of disapproval that somehow questions his intelligence as well. "Lucifer. Why would I need to hurt your precious human? She's certainly no threat to me. Besides, while I see nothing particularly special about her, I do know you're fond of her. You've always been distrustful, yet so curious, Lucifer. You'll find out who did it. Which means if I did it, you would find out. I already told you, I want to stay here to be closer to you and Amenediel, my sons. That won't be possible if I hurt one of your playthings." She points out with a slightly arched eyebrow, tone definitely disdainful of Chloe and all humans, for that matter.

Prickling a little at his mother's description of Chloe, Lucifer is quick to correct her. "Chloe is not mine, nor anyone's, plaything, mother." He says in a firm tone as he looks at Charlotte. "And you're damn right I'll find out who did it. And punish them accordingly." He promises, voice full of the threat of violence to whomever it may be. "Now, would you kindly leave? The last thing I need right now is the Detective trying to interrogate you in order to find out what dark secrets I have that made me the way I am. Which could easily be explained if she would just believe me." He complains a little, glancing away from Charlotte in frustration, briefly glancing over to make sure that Chloe is still staying put at her desk before turning his attention back to his mother. "So.. off you pop." Popping the 'p' on 'pop', Lucifer motions toward the elevator.

"Why don't you just show her, Lucifer?" Charlotte asks, leaning her head toward him a little with a somewhat patronizing smile. "You could clear up this whole thing by just showing her your true face. It would have been so much easier if you hadn't cut off your wings. You could have just shown her them." She still sounds a little peeved about her son mutilating himself like that. "Why are you hesitating and moping around about her not believing you." She scolds her son for a moment, shaking her head a little in disbelief as she looks at him.

Glancing at his mother and then away a few times in an almost nervous manner, Lucifer finally settles on looking at the floor for a moment. Very much the chastened child, even briefly. "You could never understand, mum. Humans have a rather unique reaction to my real face. And it's never a positive experience. Well, sometimes I quite enjoy it actually. But the humans never do." He admits with a little grin toward the end as he starts to recover himself. "The Detective.. Chloe.. Despite what you might think, she's special. And I care about her. I can't..." He trails off and shakes his head a little as he thinks about the rejection he would surely face if Chloe saw his true face. Now, when she has finally started to come around, to see her recoil in fear from him, even the thought causes him too much pain to even consider.

"Lucifer." Chloe interrupts as she comes over, looking up at Lucifer and then at Charlotte. "Hey, sorry to interrupt your little.. family discussion or whatever. I thought we could get out of the office for a bit, go get some lunch." She says as she puts her hand on Lucifer's arm. That's only partially true. She noticed that Lucifer was taking a long time and looked up from her work to see him talking to his mother. And he didn't seem to be happy or comfortable at all, so she thought she might rescue him for once.

Charlotte sighs a little. "Hello again." She says dryly as she looks at Chloe. "It's fine, I was just leaving." She pauses before she turns her attention back to her little Morning Star. "Think about what I said, Lucifer." She says in a kind, motherly tone as she reaches out and puts her hand on his bicep, pulling her hand back when he recoils from her touch. "Very well." She glances at Chloe. "Detective." She says in a dismissive tone before she turns toward the elevator.

Glancing briefly at Chloe with a rather vulnerable experience, Lucifer twists his body away from his mother to pull his arm from her touch, giving her a warning glance but staying silent until the doors on the elevator close. He lets out a sigh of relief. "Impeccable timing as always, Detective." He says with a slightly force smile, still a little unsettled and unable to fully look at her. "Well then. I think a break is definitely warranted. What are you in the mood for?" He asks, straightening up a little and finally recovering himself to at least be able to look at Chloe without that vulnerable expression on his face. He may not be his happy, carefree self just yet, but he should be right as rain in a few moments as he pushes the feelings and conversation aside, stuffing it in one of the many boxes he keeps such things in in his mind.

Chloe smiles a little as she looks at him, rubbing his arm a little. "Is there anyone in your family you get along with well, Lucifer?" She asks with a little bit of amusement as she looks at him, tilting her head a little.

With a slightly fond smile as he thinks of some of his siblings, Lucifer nods a little. "One of my sisters. She was my favorite. Younger than me, but that hardly mattered. We were very close once, we used to prank Amenediel together." He reminisces, eyes unfocusing as he remembers her, a small smile on his lips. "He's always been a bit of a stick in the mud." He says with a bit of amusement. "But, like most of my family, when I was cast out of Heaven, she did nothing. Never came to visit me once." He says with a little shake of his head, sounding a little frustrated and bitter about that.

Closing her eyes for a moment as she gets more of Lucifer's metaphors, she tries to decipher them and comes to the decision that everything besides the Heaven thing is probably true. "I'm sorry that your family abandoned you, Lucifer. I can't imagine anyone doing that. No matter what you may have done, and yeah, I think you probably did something." Chloe says as she looks at Lucifer with a slight smirk. "That's no excuse for kicking you out of the house as a teenager. Or shunning you. You don't do that to family. If I ever meet your father, I'll be giving him a piece of my mind, I can promise you that." She says in a firm tone with a small frown as she thinks about everything that Lucifer has told hr about his father. Ignoring the whole God part of course.

"I'll hold you to that, Detective. Too bad I won't be able to see the show. Might have to wait a few decades before you get the chance though. Longer, if I have anything to say about it." Lucifer says before he nods a little. "Come along, can't work on an empty stomach." He insists, putting his hand on Chloe's lower back to urge her in the direction of the elevator.

Following his direction, Chloe steps up to the elevator and taps the button before she glances at Lucifer. "You were never a well-behaved child, were you?" She asks as she looks at him, tilting her head as she tries to picture Lucifer as a child with big brown eyes and mop of curly hair, getting into trouble with his siblings and flashing dimples at whatever authority figure tries to keep him down. The thought turns a little sad though as she wonders at what point something bad enough happened to him to make him create the Devil persona, to wrap himself up in that to protect himself from the world.

"Perhaps not as perfectly behaved as some of my siblings." Lucifer admits before he steps into the elevator with his Detective. "It was so much more fun to be a little bad." He notes in a slightly suggestive tone as he turns his body slightly toward Chloe. "What about you, Detective? Do tell, did you ever have a rebellious phase? Any salacious stories about young Chloe Decker?" He asks as he imagines her in skimpier clothes as teenagers so often use as a part of their rebellion.

Tit for tat, Chloe thinks, taking a deep breath as she looks up at the numbers on the inside of the elevator. "Yeah, I guess you could say that.. There was about a year when I was a teenager that I did the whole partying celebutante thing because I was mad at my mother for either not being around, or dragging me with her to all her auditions." She says with a small nod. "I was smart enough not to get caught by the paparazzi being stupid or drunk though." She says with a little shrug.

"Oh? Not going to give me any more details? I'm disappointed. I was hoping there were at least a few salacious photos." Lucifer says with a little grin, motioning for her to precede him when the elevator doors open again.

"Oh, there were photos. But they were all mine." Chloe says with a little laugh. "And don't even think of looking for them, because they're-" She wasn't thinking. She started the sentence thinking of where she hid those photos from Trixie and partially from herself. For a moment she forgot about the fire. Forgot about the attempt on her life. She stops walking, realizing they're just outside the precinct and she takes a deep breath as her eyes unfocus and she thinks about what she's lost. Not just her memories of Trixie, but her own as well. Her entire childhood, all her momentos, everything that was special to her. A fleeting thought passes through the Detective's mind from trauma training, that sometimes the effect can be delayed and hit at unexpected moments.

Lucifer grins at the thought of finding some naughty little photos of a young Chloe Decker which is why he doesn't notice that Chloe has stopped walking for a step or two. Turning back toward her, his eyebrows draw together in concern, smile fading from his face. "Detective? What is it?" He asks as he quickly backtracks to stand by her side. "Detective? Chloe, are you ok?" He repeats when she doesn't immediately respond, taking in her unfocused eyes, her quick breathing and the break out of sweat across her brow even though the day isn't that warm. "Bloody hell." He mutters as he watches the trembling of her hands start. "Come on." He says as he puts his arm around her waist, taking one of her hands in his to lead her, forcibly if necessary, away from the more public area in front of the precinct.

Lucifer's been around for a long time, this isn't the first panic attack he's seen. Though at least Chloe doesn't have to fight a corset to breathe properly. Even though he's sure that it feels like that. Finding a bench around the side of the building that is away from prying eyes, Lucifer sits Chloe down. "It's alright, Chloe. You're here, Beatrice is fine. Deep breaths, love." He tries to soothe, putting his hand on the back of her neck and rubbing lightly.

Barely registering the trip from the front of the precinct to where she ends up sitting on the bench, Chloe tries to do as she's told and take a few deep breaths. She leans over on her knees a little, and closes her eyes, focusing on where Lucifer's hand had moved to wrap around the base of her neck, goosebumps rising along the back of her neck and down across her shoulders involuntarily. The placement, the firm pressure of his warm hand on hr skin, is oddly comforting under the circumstances. Trying to focus on that instead of on her racing thoughts, she feels herself slowly start to calm down. In the corner of her mind, she does realize she's going to have to deal with this properly at some point rather than constantly pushing away the thoughts. But she can't afford that right now, not when she has to make sure that Trixie is safe, and find out who might be out to kill her. With another deep breath which she lets out slowly, Chloe finally opens her eyes and takes in their current surroundings before she slowly sits up and looks into Lucifer's concerned face. "I'm ok.." She reassures with a small nod, patting his leg lightly, not thinking much about the gesture at the moment. "Thank you, Lucifer. I.. It just hit me.. everything.." She waves a hand slightly and sighs. "Sorry." She really feels embarrassed for falling apart like that in front of her partner.

Relieved when she seems to come out of it, Lucifer keeps his hand on the base of her neck until she sits up, and he nods slowly as he listens, his hand sliding down her back slowly. "It's quite alright, Detective. Understandable, given the revelations from earlier. I would have expected you to be more affected by everything before now. Perhaps you should speak to Linda." He offers, but he's still genuinely worried about his partner. "Low blood sugar likely doesn't help. I know this lovely spot where we could bring something." He offers with a little smile. "Oh, I know." He says with a slight grin, waving his index finger at her as he tries to think. "What about that place, oh, it's a deli or something, I forget the name. It has those amazing paninis. And those, uh.. Sweet potato fries? You had quite the lovely reaction to them last time." He reminds with a broad grin as he remembers the sound of pleasure she made.

"Of course, that's why you remember that place." Chloe says with a little roll of her eyes, before she pulls out her phone, already feeling better with the odd familiarity of Lucifer's presence and just him being himself. "I can order it, should be ready by the time we get here. You want the same thing?" She asks, remembering Lucifer's surprise and pleasure at how good the sandwiches as well. He may not have made any sinful noises, but the childlike way he lit up after the first bite is something she remembers clearly.

Standing smoothly, Lucifer swivels to hold his hand out to Chloe. "Sounds lovely, Detective." His usual charm and cheer is back as he helps Chloe to her feet, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand for a moment in a gentle caress before he releases her and turns toward where his car is parked.

The subtle things that Lucifer keeps doing, a few words, a touch, the familiarity of it, and seemingly genuine affection is starting to throw Chloe off a little. Mostly just today, she thinks, recalling the shoulder massage, his trip to her favorite coffee shop, how he took care of her during her little panic attack, and then just now with that little caress. She watches his back as they walk toward the car, trying to figure out if this is some scheme of his, or if maybe this is what it would be like if she actually went on a date with Lucifer. Or several. Could he really just be this thoughtful? And it's not as if he seems to think he's doing anything special. He's just doing things, for once not drawing attention to it or himself. She kind of wonders how long it's going to last.

"Are you alright, Detective? Did you change your mind about the panini's?" Lucifer asks as he moves to his side of his convertible and looks back at Chloe, tilting his head slightly as he continues to watch her with concern.

Blinking a few times to bring herself out of her thoughts, Chloe clears her throat a little. "Yeah. Fine. Just.. thinking. Sorry." She says distractedly as she gets into the car and then fiddles with her phone until she finds the number she wants, quickly calling in the order before she hangs up.

Still concerned and not sure if he should leave it alone or push Chloe for answers, Lucifer gets in the car and starts to drive toward the deli to pick up the sandwiches. Making a decision as he drives, he glances at Chloe and asks. "Really, Detective. You /can/ talk to me. If there's something particular on your mind. I know I'm not.. very good with the feels, but you can talk to me." He insists as he glances over at her again, before he turns his attention back to the road.

Chloe looks over at Lucifer for a moment, staring at his profile before she explains, "Um.. Ok.. It's just.. The things you've been doing today. I mean, you've never been particularly.. thoughtful." She explains as she glances at him. "You're just.. different today. Is that because of the Dan thing this morning, or.. because of the fire, or some strange way of proving that you could be... that we might be.." She trails off and motions between them for a few moments.

Actually looking a little hurt and slightly insulted, Lucifer glances at Chloe. "I beg your pardon, Detective. I have been attempting to do things for you for quite a while. You're just a bit difficult to figure out." He explains, as he glances at her before paying attention to the road again. "I've been going into that coffee shop at least twice a week for a month, Detective, to get you coffee. Making sure we get food from your favorite spots if we have a late night case. I have offered you a shoulder massage before, if you'll remember. But you always rebuffed me rather firmly. I'm actually starting to get a little insulted by how little you've thought of me, Detective." He explains, ending up sounding confused and a little upset. He's been trying, in his own way, to be more thoughtful, at least in the past few weeks, and is a little bothered by her not having noticed.

With a quick shake of her head, Chloe frowns as she thinks about what Lucifer said, thinking over the last few weeks, and to her shame, realizes that she's just taken it for granted as Lucifer being a decent guy for once. Not seeing the pattern. "Oh.. Gosh, I'm really sorry, Lucifer.." She says as she looks at him. "I guess.. I didn't think about it. I just thought.. you were being less of an ass for once." Even though that's a little harsh, it was her thought at the time, and she knows how much Lucifer values honesty. "Maybe... Maybe it's just me, everything in the last few days has me looking at everything differently." She admits quietly before she reaches over and puts her hand on his arm, giving it a brief squeeze before releasing him. "I'm sorry, Lucifer. Thank you, for everything, today. You've been really great, helping me with paperwork and everything."

"Apology accepted." Lucifer reassures with a slow nod. "I'm glad you're looking at things differently." He grins a little after a moment, glancing over at Chloe after parking in front of the shop. "Though, if you /really/ want to thank me, I can think of /several/ different ways.. You might get the better end of it, come to think of it." He says suggestively as he turns toward her, dark eyes slowly moving over Chloe's body before returning to hers, the grin never leaving his face.

"But then you would lose your bet." Chloe points out with a bit of amusement as she watches Lucifer, and she looks him over for a moment as well. "Too bad about that bet..." She says with a little suggestiveness as her eyes return to his, her eyebrow arching slightly.

"Tease." Lucifer accuses, but he leans over toward Chloe a little. "If you really want to get rid of this pesky bet, you could go ahead and kiss me, Detective." He challenges with an eyebrow arch of his own as he watches her with a slight smirk.

"Aw, we're halfway through, Lucifer. Don't think you can hold out?" Chloe teases abefore she shrugs. "Win or lose is going to be up to you. I'm going to get our food." She says as she steps out of the car and heads inside to get their food.

Watching her go, Lucifer grins a little. "Well played, Detective." He mutters approvingly as he sits back in his seat, admiring how Chloe has gotten so good at not only dealing with his flirting, but giving as good as she gets as well. If the stakes weren't so high for him, he would gladly end the bet, but that would mean giving up any and all sexual advances, or flirting for that matter, and he's not quite ready for that yet. Especially since he knows he can very easily win the bet. He is glad his Detective is feeling more herself, enough to flirt back at least. Although the flirting is a recent development so he's not sure if he can call it 'being herself' yet. Time will tell whether it's just her way of coping in general or just her new way of dealing with him.

Chloe returns soon enough with a bag of their food which she puts at her feet as she gets back in. "Ok, so where is this vantage point of yours?" She asks after she gets buckled up, seeming to be back to business mode somewhat. The people inside were a little annoying, so any easy flirting mood that she might have had is sort of ruined.

Taking the mood shift in stride, Lucifer smirks a little and pulls back out into traffic. "You'll just have to wait and see, Detective. It's not far." He reassures as he glances over at her, weaving his way through traffic before pulling off and into a parking garage of all things. He continued to drive up until he came to the open roof and then turned to find one of the spots along the outer wall. Once he's parked, he motioned to what turns out to be an excellent view of the city. "What do you think, Detective?" Lucifer asks with a smirk over at Chloe. "There are several much better views when you get into the hills, of course, but this time of day we'd never make it back to the Precinct in time." He says thoughtfully as he looks out at the city.

"Wow.. I am impressed, Lucifer. This is a really good view." Chloe agrees with a little grin over at him, before she digs into the bag and hands him the little cardboard container that deli uses so the sandwiches won't get soggy and also because you can recycle them, before she opens her own. "Dare I ask how you actually found it?" She asks, amused as she glances at him again and takes her first bite into her panini. Yeah, definitely a great choice, she decides.

As he chews his own first bite, Lucifer considers if he should tell the Detective how he found this place, and decides she might not want to know. "Might be best if I keep this secret to myself, Detective." He smiles a little over at her as he licks some sauce off his lips. "Afterall, you've expressed vehement disinterest in my exploits before." He points out before taking another bite of his food and looking back out at the city. Pity that they're both too far away from Lux and in the opposite direction of it from the station, so they can't see it from their location.

Chloe snorts a little as she looks out at the city. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She says with a touch of sarcasm after clearing her mouth, then making a pleased humming as she eats a few of the sweet potato fries. "Want some?" She asks as she holds out the tray toward Lucifer.

"Well, don't mind if I do." Lucifer smirks as he takes a few of the fries and eats them slowly. "These are rather good. Whoever thought to make sweet potatoes into fries is bloody brilliant." He notes as he looks at one before popping it into his mouth.

Smiling a little as she listens to her partner, Chloe shakes her head a little. "I'm surprised you didn't know about them before. You're not really as adventurous with less fancy food, are you?" She teases as she takes another bite of her food and looks out over the city, enjoying the breeze and the relative quiet from this high up.

"Not precisely true. I'll try just about anything. The problem is, there's just so very much of it, Detective. So many different cultures worth of food, not to mention the variations you clever humans keep coming up with." Lucifer points out as he shifts slightly in his seat to turn a little toward Chloe to more comfortably watch her. "And everyone has their own preferences. You're a perfect example of this, going back to the same places over and over, places that you know you enjoy. I'm afraid I'm guilty of that as well sometimes." He muses as he thinks about his time on Earth and how he has fallen into habits of going to certain places.

Suppressing a smile, Chloe nods slowly as she mirrors Lucifer's position, turning a bit to face him. Not an easy task in this car. "We're going to have to switch cars before we pick up Trixie." She points out as she thinks about it. Speaking of habits, it's definitely one of Lucifer's to choose his vintage Corvette over his slightly larger Mustang.

Looking around at the car as if he forgot which one he was driving, Lucifer hums briefly and he nods. "So we will. Not to worry, Detective. I can drop you off at the station and return to Lux in order to switch cars, and return in time for us to go to retrieve Beatrice." He reassures as he looks back at her, not wanting to let Chloe go alone, especially if someone is out to kill her. If they didn't succeed in their subtle approach, they may get bolder, and even if he is mortal around Chloe, he would rather be the one taking the damage than his dear Detective.

"Oh, ok." Chloe nods a little, surprised that Lucifer comes up with that so easily, as if it's a perfectly normal thing that he does every day. He's not even sounding put out by the fact that they have to go get Trixie. Not a single complaint or snarky remark. She shakes her head a little as she finishes her food. This is certainly going to take some adjusting, this new side to Lucifer. Or maybe not a new side, maybe one he's just never shown her before. It's hard for her to tell sometimes how much of what she sees from him is a facade and how much is his genuine self. It's pretty clear he has some high walls he puts up to protect himself. Recently a few of them have been lowered though, and she feels at least like she's been allowed to peek over them and see the man that Lucifer could be.

Lucifer watches Chloe uncertainly for a few moments since she seems to be giving him an odd look. Finishing his food, he reaches over to tuck the container back into the bag at Chloe's feet before he straightens and starts his car. "Shall we?" He asks as he starts to back out of the space.

Nodding, Chloe straightens in her seat and puts her trash in the bag as well, tying the top so nothing blows away. "Ok. I'll see if I can make any progress on anyone being out of jail." She offers as she glances over at him, sitting back and starting to enjoy the drive back to the station, even if the way Lucifer takes the ramps down from one level to the next makes her laugh. The Corvette is a sports car, and he certainly drives it like that. The thing corners like it's on rails.

Of course, the first time Chloe laughs at how he takes the corner just encourage Lucifer to do it more, because she seems to enjoy it. And at the moment, hearing her laugh like that is more precious than gold, with all the bad that's been happening in the last few days. "You must enjoy roller coasters, Detective." He says when they pull back onto the main street, smirking as he glances at her.

"I do, actually. I haven't been on one in forever. It's not like Trixie has been big enough to ride on them. Probably still isn't. And I'm not going to go to an amusement park by myself just to ride a roller coaster." Chloe points out with a little smile as she looks over at Lucifer, shrugging a little as she lifts a hand to hold some of her strands of hair back from her face.

Smirking a little as he makes a decision, Lucifer just nods a little. "Well, now I have an idea for our date, Detective." He teases a little, fairly confident he'll win their little bet and while he had been planning on taking her out to dinner, he knows that dates often include more than a meal. And he's just found out something suitable for a date that the Detective would certainly appreciate.

With perhaps an overly exaggerated eye roll that moves her whole head, Chloe glances at Lucifer. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Lucifer. You still have the rest of today and tomorrow to survive." She says with a small smirk, though she has to admit he seems to be coping much better than she thought he would. Of course, he's had less temptation the normal perhaps, except for the night before. Which they did break a tiny rule, but she was tipsy and they agreed it wouldn't count. The down side is, it's just made her want to kiss him again and actually made it harder for her to keep up her side of the bet. Which was probably Lucifer's plan all along. Of course it's also proving what he told Dr. Martin on their first case together. He is a bit like walking heroin. Habit forming. She certainly wants another fix. Tearing her eyes away from Lucifer, she turns to look out the side of the car as she scolds herself into behaving.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Wow, thank you for everyone who has been reading this in the last week! Season 4 made me have to rewrite about half this chapter and reconsider the rest of it. After the tears. 10 episodes was not enough. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Please let me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts and theories! As always, thank you for reading!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (And encouraged)!**

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The ride back to the station is brief and Lucifer drops Chloe off at the entrance so he can go get his Mustang. When Chloe heads back to her desk to wait for Lucifer to get back and try and get some more work done, she sighs a little when she sees Dan heading toward her desk. No manner of trying to look busy will keep him away, it seems, though she does get some satisfaction in the nervous glances he gives around as he's looking for Lucifer.

"Hey." Dan says as he gets next to Chloe's desk. "I just heard about the fire, that it was set deliberately?" He asks, sounding surprised, concerned, and maybe a little nervous as he looks down at her, crossing his arms over his chest to either give himself more of a feeling of security or to make himself look more tough.

Chloe sighs a little as she looks down at her slowly dwindling list of suspects. "Yeah. Seems that way. Whoever it was, they were a pro. They knew the layout of my mom's house, they started the fire away from Trixie's room, but made sure it was right beneath my bedroom." She explains as she looks up at him. Dan is the one person she's sure didn't have anything to do with it. He may be a liar, and a dirty cop, but he's been wanting to get back together with Chloe, not kill her. And while he did know the layout of her mother's house well, she is fairly sure Dan would have been a little more clever, or placed an explosive device on that side of the house rather than starting an unpredictable fire which might have hurt Trixie. And she can't believe she's even thinking about what possible ways Dan would have done something like this because it's just not possible.

"Wow. That's scary. Anything I can do to help?" Dan asks with a nod toward the paperwork she was working on. His words sound a little awkward at best, and at worse, they almost sound false or forced. Either he doesn't think it's really scary or doesn't care as much as he's pretending to.

So he didn't mean personally help, it was all about work, what a surprise, Chloe thinks with a mental shake of her head in disgust, giving him a slightly wary glance as she takes in his tone and stance. "No, I'm just going through my cases from the last six months to see if anyone has gotten out of jail, before I move on. You know, get it out of the way until Ella and the other CSI's get finished with the house. I got a message from Ella earlier saying they were there." She says with a little shrug, the message having come while Lucifer was talking to her mother. It's one of the reasons she looked up from what she was so focused on.

Nodding a little as he considers the papers on Chloe's desk, Dan takes a deep breath and drops his arms to his sides. "Alright. Can you think of anyone else besides the guys you put away, who might want to hurt you?" He asks as he looks at Chloe for a few moments, deciding to hedge his bets since she seems willing to listen to him. "What about Lucifer's sidekick, Mazikeen?" He asks as he thinks about the woman. "I'm not saying Lucifer had anything to do with it, but you know, you might want to consider him, too. He's been trying to get you in bed for months, he's got the shady connections and he's manipulative." He explains quickly as he sees Chloe starting to get angry. He wants to make sure she's thinking through all the angles. "And you have to admit, those two have a weird relationship. And she doesn't seem to like you. It might at least be possible that she has the skills to do something like this to try and get you away from Lucifer. Or she could have done it at Lucifer's bidding, to try and drive you toward him. Which is exactly what happened."

And here Chloe though the conversation was going well, civil even. Sighing a little, she shakes her head. "I don't pretend to understand what Maze and Lucifer were, or are, but no, I don't think she would do it. If she wanted to kill me she would come for me personally. She seems the type to enjoy causing pain." She says with a small shake of her head. "I agree she might have the skills, but I think she would be more direct and I don't think she would have failed." She explains, showing that she has at least thought about it. "As for Lucifer, he would never, /ever/ do something like this, Dan. He's been /so/ great since the fire. He's really been there for me. He's never been anything but honest with me, Dan. I don't see where you're getting this idea that he's manipulative." She explains, knowing he might be a little with suspects sometimes, but so can she. "Besides, if he was trying to get me closer to him, starting a fire that could have killed me is pretty stupid." Unfortunately there is that tiny seed of doubt that makes its way into her Detective's brain which sees there is some logic to what Dan is saying, before she shakes it off, refusing to believe Lucifer would do anything like that. "Listen, Dan, I have to get back to work, and if you're just going to try to come up with reasons for me to hate Lucifer or distance myself from him, it's not going to work. He's my partner. He's one of the best, most honest men I know. Just back off and go away. I'm sure you have your own work to do." She sounds both firm and tired, glances up at Dan dismissively before shaking her head and turning back to her work, though she doesn't fully relax until she sees him leave out of the corner of her eye.

Thankfully the next person who stops by her desk is a little more welcome, even if she smells a bit like smoke. "Hey, Decker. I'm just about to go and start working on the stuff I collected, but I wanted to check in on you. Like, really check in, you know? How are you doing?" Ella asks, hesitating before she leans over and hugs Chloe's shoulders tightly for a moment before she retreats.

"Hey, Ella." Chloe says with a little smile as she looks up at the lab tech. "I'm doing alright. I had a little panic attack earlier, but Lucifer was there, so it was fine." She says with a small nod of her head. "He's been great, surprisingly." She says thoughtfully with slightly unfocused eyes as she recalls a montage of things over the last few days, then she blinks and returns her attention to the woman in front of her, feeling a little guilty that she allowed herself to doubt Lucifer's motives. "I'd be doing better if we could find who's trying to kill me." She says with a small sigh and a little shake of her head.

"Lucifer steppin' up, huh? Good for him." Ella says with a little grin, since she kind of ships those two together. Her own real life OTP. "I'm glad you've got someone to be there for you, you know? Not like Dan's really been the best, so.." She trails off before she pats her bag. "I am going to work on that pronto for you, lady. Don't you worry. We'll find this bastard and put him where he, or she, belongs." She reassures firmly as she looks at her friend.

"Yeah. It's been really nice actually. I don't think I would have coped so well on my own." Chloe finally admits to someone other than herself, watching Ella. "Anyway.. Um.. Trixie and I are staying with Lucifer, so if you need me after work or anything, that's where I'll be." She says with a small nod of her head, trying not to make it seem like a big deal. Because it's not. Really.

But Ella's not buying it of course, and she grins as she looks at Chloe. "Wow, you really are bouncing back." She jokes as she looks at the other woman. "Don't worry, I'll try not to disturb you in your little love nest." She grins again, adjusting her pack over her shoulder.

Sighing and shaking her head a little, Chloe tries not to blush and give Ella any more fodder for her imagination. "It's not like that, Ella. Lucifer and I are just friends." She says in a firm tone as she watches the lab tech. "We're friends and partners, and that's why he offered to let me stay at his place. That's all it is." And yeah, she realizes that she's emphasizing that a little too much, maybe trying to convince herself as much as Ella that she doesn't, and can't, have feelings for her partner. And she is really ignoring the bet they made, because that doesn't really change anything and she can't really lose that bet, right? No matter how thoughtful or gallant he's been over the last few days, it doesn't erase the last year of flirting and interference. Sure doesn't. Nope. Doesn't matter what anyone says. It doesn't. And she's also not looking forward to returning to Lux tonight and having a quiet night in with Trixie. Yeah, sure, and pigs fly. Lucifer's penthouse is not her home. No matter how comfortable she's starting to get there, as soon as Trixie and her are safe, she needs to start looking for a place to live. This fact, she reminds herself very firmly.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Decker." Ella says, before she glances up when she sees Lucifer out of the corner of her eye, snickering a little. "Speak of the Devil..." She trails off as she motions to Lucifer. "I'll get to work. Talk later, yeah?" She asks, waiting for Chloe's not before she wanders off. "Heya, Lucifer." She greets as she heads toward her lab.

"Oh, you were speaking of me?" Lucifer asks with a grin as he returns, sitting down smoothly in the chair next to Chloe's desk. "Do tell, no need to leave out any details, what were you talking about?" He asks as he looks at her, interested but also seeming a little smug.

"Don't get too excited, Lucifer." Chloe says with a roll of her eyes, but she can't help the small smile that tugs the corner of her lips. "I was just telling Ella that Trixie and I are staying with you until we catch this guy. And that you've been a great friend through all of this." She says with a small nod of her head.

Friends. Lucifer can still work with that. He can tell that Chloe isn't telling the whole truth, but he can't blame her for wanting to keep some embarrassing little tidbits to herself. He figures he'll find out eventually, he can always ask Ms. Lopez about it. She's always quite willing to talk and only needs a few nudges to get onto the topic he might wish to discuss. "Oh? That's all, hm?" He asks knowingly before he shrugs a little. "If you say so, Detective. I apologize for not getting back sooner, but there were a few administrative duties I had to attend to at Lux. Shipment came in wrong unfortunately." He says with a little bit of exasperation.

For a moment Chloe just watches Lucifer, trying to picture him as an actual business owner. She always assumed Maze did things like that, but with her not being around as much, she figures that Lucifer must be taking over all those duties. Assuming he never did those before. Which she doesn't really know. He told her once that he did have a business to run, but at the time she definitely didn't believe him. Shaking her head to bring her out of her own head, Chloe takes a deep breath. "Yeah. It's fine. I haven't had much progress anyway. You know, people stopping by to check on me." She explains with a small nod without elaborating on who specifically stopped by. Afterall, she's barely had 10 minutes in order to continue looking over her list. "I have to admit, I have a hard time seeing you dealing with duties as mundane as an incorrect shipment of alcohol, or whatever it was." She says with a little smile and a slight shrug as she watches him.

"I've told you before, Detective. I do run a business. I don't know why some things are so difficult to believe. It's like you have some sort of mental block against believing me." Lucifer points out, thinking of the various things he's told Chloe that she either brushes off or flat out refuses to believe. Him being the Devil, the fact that he might want more than just sex from Chloe, him running a business, as well as a few other things. It's a bit maddening. "I've told you before that I never lie to you, Detective." He reminds her once again.

A little ashamed of her blatant disbelief in Lucifer, Chloe just shrugs a little. "Well, you do put off a persona that's not consistent with a business owner, most of the time." She points out with a smirk of her own, glancing down at her list of suspects and sighing a little. "I'm sorry.. I feel like my thoughts are here, there, and everywhere today. I need to focus on this." She says as she brushes some hair back from her face, slowly taking her hair down and running her hands through it before she starts to put it back up.

Lucifer nods a little with a bit of concern as he watches Chloe fiddling with her hair. "Very well, Detective. We have a bit of time before we'll have to go pick up the little urchin, I believe." He muses as he glances at his watch curiously for a moment. "I'll leave you to focus on your work." He offers as he stands up, tugging the sides of his jacket together and laying his hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Ok. Thanks, Lucifer." Chloe says as she looks up at him, before she looks back down at her list of suspects, feeling worse for allowing herself – even for a moment – to think that Lucifer might somehow be behind any of this. It's all just Dan's bitterness over the divorce and the fact that those two have always had a contentious relationship. A part of her wonders if Dan somehow blames their final decision to split up on Lucifer somehow, but she doesn't think he would be that delusional.

Slowly stepping away from the desk, Lucifer tries to consider what he can do with himself and he can only think of one thing that will keep him in the station so he smirks a little as he walks over to the lab and steps inside. "Ms. Lopez." He greets the tiny Latino woman as he shuts the door carefully behind him.

"Hey!" Ella says from where she's working on something. "Since you've been spending more time with Chloe – way to step up by the way – how is she really doing?" She asks in concern as she looks past him out toward where the woman in question is hunched over her desk.

Glancing behind him as well, Lucifer considers. "She's handling it admirably well. Things seem to sneak up on her at sudden times, so she may not be dealing with it properly." He explains with a little bit of concern as he looks down at the things on the table, turning over one of the evidence bags. "What else did the Detective tell you during your little chat?" He asks curiously as he looks back up at the woman.

"Nothin' that couldn't use a few details filled in." Ella says with a little grin as she looks over at him. "Cone of silence dude, but.. how are you doing with the whole extended houseguest thing? I mean, you're a surprisingly private dude." She points out as she looks at him curiously, putting away some of the evidence she was testing and making a few notes.

"Well, tonight is the first night the child will be there." Lucifer says as he considers it. "The Detective's personal items are all over my bathroom, I have to think about their welfare, making sure that I have food in the house. I have gone to bed earlier in the last few days than I have in the last seven years." He says in what might be interpreted as frustration, but then he takes a deep breath. "And I can't bring myself to care about any of that." He says before he moves a little closer to speak in confidence, "Between you and me.. the Detective has even been sharing my bed." He looks quit proud of himself. "Completely innocently. Just two mature adults, sharing a bed for mutual comfort." He says with a smug smile as he looks at Ella, putting his hands into his pockets and rocking forward on his feet a little.

About to launch into a whole speech about sharing spaces and the responsibility and how it's really not bad, Ella closes her mouth when Lucifer continues, then she grins broad. "Awww.. you two are so seriously cute!" She says, pushing Lucifer's arm a little. "See, its not so bad, right?" She asks as she looks up at him. "So.. you two just share a bed, no sneaky cuddle time?" She teases a little, but she's excited to get all the details.

Moving back and twisting a little when his arm is pushed, Lucifer looks at Ella in confusion, the forensic scientist often confusing him in that way. "No, having the Detective there isn't bad at all. It is slightly claustrophobic, not having any time to myself. But I suppose that's just an adjustment." He says with a small nod of his head, then he chuckles a little. "Well, I discovered something quite interesting about the detective. She's quite the cuddler. First night, we stated out on opposite sides of the bed. I wake up in the morning and she has crossed the entire bed in the night – which is sizable, I assure you – just to cuddle up against my side. I was completely pinned. Pleasant way to wake up, I must admit." He says thoughtfully with a smug smile, only being so free with his words because it feels good to talk about this with someone who isn't analyzing his every word. He knows Ella is a friend, who will keep it to herself.

"Awww... that really is adorable." Ella says as she puts one hand over her heart. "Big, bad Decker is a cuddler." She says with a big grin. "I really hope you won't backslide once this is all solved and she finds her own place again." She says with a small shake of her head as she goes back to some of her evidence. "You two keep dancing around eachother like you're in some sort of sexy tango." She says with a small scolding tone, peeking into her microscope for a moment.

"Yes. Well. Perhaps she'll choose to stay with me. Afterall, my penthouse is rather lovely, and best of all, it's where I am." Lucifer says with a little grin as he motions to himself with one hand. "Having her there has been quite exhilerating." He straightens his shoulders a little and gives the small woman a pleased smile.

"Whoa. That's kind of a big leap, Luce." Ella is determined to get Lucifer to accept some sort of nickname. "Might want to pump the brakes a little on that. I mean, you two haven't even been on a date. You don't want to scare her off." She warns as she looks up at him.

Shaking his head with a baffled expression, Lucifer makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Nonsense. Very shortly I will rectify that little date issue. And you don't truly understand, Ms. Lopez. It's been quite natural, the two of us staying together. Rather liberating, in fact." He says before he glances at his watch. "Ah. Time to collect the detective's offspring." He says before he smiles. "Lovely chatting with you, Ms. Lopez, thank you." He says before he turns to step outside.

"Dude, just be careful." Ella warns, glancing up but Lucifer is already gone. "Oh, man.. I hope this is happily ever after." She mumbles before shaking her head and going back to work.

Once outside, Lucifer intercepts a young officer heading toward Chloe's desk carrying a small manilla envelope. "Is that for Detective Decker?" He asks pleasantly and smiles as he looks at the young woman. "I'll take it to her." He reassures when he gets a nod from the rather stunned looking rookie. Taking the envelope, he opens it and dumps the contents into his hand. A new set of car keys for Chloe's car. Tucking them into his pocket for later, he tosses the envelope before he moves over to Chloe's desk. "Time to collect your spawn, I believe, Detective." He says as he looks down at her with a little smile. He's never taken not of her exact schedule though he has been present a few times when Chloe had to pick her offspring up, he never particularly took note of the time.

Glancing at the clock for a moment, Chloe nods and gets up, starting to pack some things up. "Yeah, we should probably go." She thinks about it for a moment before she glances at Lucifer. "How stocked is your fridge?" She asks curiously as she slips back into her jacket because knowing him, Lucifer has the top down on his car. And even with how warm LA is, she can get a little chilly sometimes.

Moving to the side to allow the Detective to precede him, Lucifer tugs the sides of his jacket together before tilting his head a little to watch Chloe. "Well enough. I'm sure we can find something something that Beatrice will eat. I presume that's why you're asking." He notes with a small smirk before he motions Chloe to go first and then follows her toward the elevator.

"Yeah. Alright. I guess we can always order something later." Chloe says as she thinks about it, sighing as she heads for the elevator, knowing no one will object to her going home early, the Lieutenant already pretty much told her to go home, but she's stubborn and wants to get back to something normal. And getting to work is normal. Of course, that's before she knew the fire was deliberate. Shaking her head, she taps the button for the elevator, glancing around as something occurs to her. "I think we need to talk about the bet, Lucifer. One part in particular." She stalls from saying any more details until she steps into the elevator.

"I keep telling you, you can end the bet any time you wish, Detective." Lucifer points out with a bit of amusement as he steps into the elevator with her, standing close – maybe a touch too close – to his Detective. "But I'm always up for renegotiation." He reassures, smirking as he looks down at Chloe.

Once the elevator doors close, Chloe takes a deep breath. Lucifer really does have nice cologne, she thinks. Nothing too heavy, but when he stands close she can always smell it. It's always similar, but not always the same. It's a little comforting. Imperceptibly shaking her head, Chloe re-focuses and glances at Lucifer. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to sleep in your bed when Trixie is there. I don't want her to get the wrong idea." She says simply with a little shrug, seeing it as fairly obvious and simple.

"Is that all?" Lucifer asks in surprise before he snorts. "No, I'm afraid that's non-negotiable. It should be a fairly simple explanation. Merely tell her that since you've been through something traumatic, sharing my bed gives you some level of comfort. Nothing untoward happens. Though I'd prefer you not compare me to a stuffed animal, she seems far too delighted to hug me as it is." He says with a little bit of exasperation as he thinks of the usual greeting he gets from the small child.

Chloe snorts a little at the idea of comparing Lucifer to a stuffed bear. The two couldn't be farther apart. Besides both being comfortable to cuddle with. "You do realize that if I tell her that, she might want to come join, especially if she has nightmares." She says pointedly to Lucifer, figuring that will get him to back off. It's pretty obvious to her that he can't stand being close to Trixie.

For a moment Lucifer weighs the benefits of having Chloe close to him at night versus the possible danger of the spawn occupying part of the bed. "Fine. But if the child cannot even manage to sleep on her own, she is sharing your side of the bed." He says in a firm tone, glancing up when the elevator doors open and he steps out and toward where his car is parked.

Nothing could have shocked Chloe more, in that moment. Lucifer allowing Trixie to occupy any part of his bed is something she never would have expected in her wildest dreams. Quickly shaking herself out of her shock, she strides quickly after Lucifer. She also didn't realize he's that determined to uphold their bet that much. Either that or maybe he's just been enjoying it. She smiles a little as she thinks about that. Big, bad Lucifer, the supposed Devil, secretly loves cuddling. And a part of her wants to test out this theory. She's sure Trixie will want to watch TV at some point, so maybe she can test it out while watching TV. It makes her feel better, to have some tangible mystery to unravel. Something easy she can solve. And a much more pleasant mystery than who burned down her house.

Not being able to resist teasing her partner a little bit, Chloe smirks when she catches up to Lucifer. "I got it. Maybe you just want to be able to brag about having two girls in your bed again." She smirks slightly as she glances over at Lucifer, waiting for his reaction.

Snapping his head over to look at Chloe, Lucifer seems overall disapproving, but it's a strange mix of disgust, hurt, and confusion. "Detective, I would never." He says in a firm tone. "Certainly not when one of said women is a child. I am many things, but I'm not a pedophile. It wouldn't be right, not even in jest." He points out in a firm tone before he gets into the driver's seat of his mustang. "Besides, I told you. I try not to kiss and tell." His tone is a little more lighthearted as he points that out, glancing over at Chloe before he sighs. "Unfortunately there hasn't been nearly as much kissing as I'd like. Feel free to change that any time." He says suggestively as he looks at Chloe, licking his lips deliberately as he looks over at her.

"You keep pushing the kissing thing. Is your control weakening, Lucifer?" Chloe asks, buckling up as Lucifer starts to pull out of his parking place. "I think you've probably mentioned it half a dozen times today alone." She may be stretching it and she hasn't exactly been keeping count, but that sounds like a good number.

Lucifer smirks a little as he starts to drive toward the school, going at a slower pace than he usually might since Chloe gets upset when he speeds, and today he doesn't want to upset her. "Why no, Detective. Certainly not my control. Just hoping, I suppose. I keep thinking of our last two kisses over the last few days. I'd very much like to explore that further, when you're completely sober. Unfortunately we have this pesky little bet which means I can't, unless you kiss me first." He reminds her as he glances over at her, smirking a little again. "I suppose I might be hoping it's not an entirely unpleasant memory for you either, and reminding you of it might make you more likely to desire a repeat." He explains, smiling a little smugly as he continues to drive. "And certainly it must be true if you've taken note of every time I bring it up." He teases a little as he glances at Chloe and then turns his eyes back to the road.

Smiling a little in amusement, Chloe shrugs a little. "Not so much keeping track. I was just guessing at a number." She explains as she watches Lucifer, resting one arm on the door of the car, resting her head in her hand. "Win the bet first, and then maybe I'll kiss you." She teases him, watching his profile and admiring him a little. "By the way. Don't mention that the fire was deliberate around Trixie, she has more than enough to deal with right now." She reminds him. Most people she wouldn't have to say that to, but this is Lucifer and with him you never know.

"Of course, I'm not completely insensitive, Detective." Lucifer reminds her before he glances at her. "You are a tease, there's no other word for it." He accuses, though he sounds almost wistful rather than accusatory.

A little confused, Chloe's smile falters as she watches Lucifer. "I figured you would like that sort of thing." She points out, arching an eyebrow a little as she watches Lucifer curiously, since she feels like she's on the edge of another one of those big revelations about her partner.

Considering his words carefully, Lucifer nods. "I do, most of the time." He glances at his partner before he looks forward. "I enjoy teasing when it's mutual, when there's a promise of satisfaction. Teasing builds tension. And the fun comes when the tension snaps." He points out, snapping his fingers with a chuckle and a sexy grin. "Your teasing, my dear Detective, is hollow. It borders on cruel. That's why you're a tease." He explains, glancing at her. Seeing that she clearly doesn't understand the difference, he explains. "You tease, but there's no intent behind it. You're all words, no actions. No matter how much you tease, you never intend anything to come of it. Your only purpose is to frustrate. And you're rather good at that." He admits with a little bit of frustration, chuckling as he pulls off the main road toward Trixie's school. Truth is, he's getting a little discouraged himself. He knows there's a spark between them, it's more than obvious. And when Chloe's inhibitions are lowered she has no problems kissing him at least. She seems to appreciate the 'softer side' of him as it were, but still denies something as simple as a date, and despite the kiss she gave him in the parking lot, she stubbornly refuses to repeat it.

It's still surprising to her when Lucifer is so forthcoming, when she's used to getting some sort of ridiculous answer or him dodging the question altogether. Still, Chloe is a little surprised at how he thinks of her. She thought it was fun, the teasing, but she realizes he might be right. She has been teasing him, but without the intention of following through. She doesn't have time to answer though as they pull up to Trixie's school soon enough. "I'll be right back." Is the only thing she says before she gets out of the car to head toward the school. After the incident with Malcolm, the school got strict instructions to allow only her or Dan to pick her up unless one of them calls to explicitly tell them otherwise.

She's relieved and happy to see her daughter, and she grins as she walks over to her. "Hey, Monkey." She says as she crouches down to give her daughter a hug. "Did you have a good day?" She asks with a little smile.

"Yeah, I got all my new books today, and the teacher said I could have some extra time to finish my homework that I missed." Trixie explains as she returns her mother's hug. "Are we still going to have a sleepover at Lucifer's?" She asks hopefully, showing that she doesn't forget.

Chloe smiles a little and she nods as she stands, taking her daughter's hand. "Yeah, we are. We're going to be staying with him for a little while, until I can find us somewhere else. But Lucifer has a big room with a really comfortable bed that you can stay in, all to yourself, though Mommy has to keep her clothes in there because there's a lot of new stuff." She explains as she starts to lead the way toward the car.

Grinning broadly, Trixie follows her mother with a little bounce to her step. "Do we get to stay up late and watch movies, or play games?" She asks hopefully as she looks up at her mother, considering for a few moments. "If your clothes are going to be in my room... where's your room?" She asks curiously as she looks around once they're outside, then back at her mother.

Most of the time, Chloe is very proud to have such a clever daughter. Sometimes, like right now, it's a little embarrassing. And they're getting closer to where Lucifer waits in the Mustang, which means there's no way he won't overhear the answer. "Well, monkey.." She stops a little ways from the car and crouches down a little, taking both her daughter's hands in hers to make sure she has her attention. "You know, sometimes, how when you have a nightmare, you come into my room... and sleeping with me makes you feel better? Makes you feel safe so you can sleep?" She asks as she looks at her daughter, waiting for her to acknowledge that before she continues. "Well.. Mommy has been having trouble sleeping, so I've been spending the night in Lucifer's bed. He makes me feel safe, and I can sleep better there. Do you think that's ok?" She asks, watching Trixie carefully.

Trixie just grins broadly as she listens to her mother, and she nods a little. She's seen the way her mother reacted to Lucifer, and the changes in her since she started working with him. She's much more fun now than she used to be. The young girl thinks they'd make a great couple, especially since she really likes Lucifer too. "Yeah.. That's ok, mommy." She reassures with a small nod.

Relieved, Chloe smiles and stands, "Good. And as far as the games and movies, you have to do your homework first, and I'm not letting you stay up all night on a school night. Maybe tomorrow you can stay up late." She offers as she looks down at Trixie, before she smiles a little when they get to the car. "Alright, in the back, Trixie." She says as she fumbles around until she figures out how to lean the passenger's seat forward.

"Hi, Lucifer!" Trixie says cheerfully with a broad grin, tossing her bag in the back before she climbs in and buckles herself in, grin settling into a happy smile as she looks between the two adults.

"Hello, Beatrice." Lucifer says warily as he looks sat the child who should not be that happy. He looks at Chloe curiously for a moment before he sighs since he can tell she's not going to be forthcoming either. "Right. Well, what would you like for dinner tonight, child?" He asks before he pulls back out into traffic. "Might as well run to the shop now if we have to." And if anyone was watching this scene, they might think that it was just your typical family. Trixie's coloring even matches Lucifer enough that someone might think she was his.

Chloe glances behind her to make sure Trixie is buckled up before she looks at Lucifer for a moment, a little bit amused by his discomfort maybe, but she lets her daughter answer for herself as she looks around for a few moments at the passing scenery, thinking over everything that she discussed with Lucifer, and processing the last few days in general, chewing on her lower lip for a moment.

Trixie considers as she looks at Lucifer, tilting her head to the side. "Chicken, and mashed potatoes, and gravy." She decides with a firm nod of her head. "Are you going to cook, Lucifer? Mommy always cooks, but you were making breakfast that time you had a sleepover with Mommy, right?" She asks as she looks at him, having a pretty long memory apparently, even if she gets some details wrong.

A little amused as he remembers the incident Trixie is talking about, Lucifer glances his Detective over, grinning a little. "Unfortunately, Beatrice, we were not having a sleepover that time. I was, however, attempting to make your mother breakfast. I do, in fact, cook. And if you wish, I'm sure I can manage that meal." He days with a little shrug. He goes over what he knows of cooking, and figuring he can do what the little urchin desires.

"Yeah! Mommy can help me with my homework, and you can cook, and then we can eat, and watch movies, and play games." Trixie says as if she has the whole night planned out, grinning a little again as she bounces in her seat.

"We can watch one movie, /if/ you finish your homework, and if Lucifer has any movies you can watch." Chloe says firmly as she looks over her shoulder at Trixie for a moment. "Remember that we're Lucifer's guests, Trix." She reminds her child firmly.

Nodding a little, suitably chastened, Trixie glances down for a moment. "I'm sorry, mommy." She says before she looks over at Lucifer for a moment. "Do you have any movies, Lucifer?" She asks curiously as she looks at her mother's friend.

"Oh, don't worry, Detective. I want you two to be as comfortable as possible. I want you to make yourselves at home. Think of my home as yours." Lucifer encourages as he glances over at Chloe for a moment. Like an addict, no matter what doubts he has about his future with the Detective, he doesn't want her to leave. He wants to keep her closer for just a little longer. "But yes, Beatrice, I have many, many movies. They're all digital, I don't need silly DVD's taking up space. I'm sure there are many which your mother would approve of." He then glances at Chloe and smirks a little. "Don't worry. I don't buy anything that you would /truly/ disapprove of, Detective." He reassures, grinning meaningfully over at Chloe with a slight arch of an eyebrow.

Chloe was about to open her mouth to say something about the possibility of Lucifer's 'collection' not being suitable for Trixie to go traipsing through, before he answers her unspoken though. Rolling her eyes a little, Chloe shakes her head. "Ugh." She mutters, not wanting to think of under which circumstances Lucifer might be watching dirty movies. And yeah, maybe now, thinking of Lucifer sleeping with the Brittany's, or some other leggy model type has her a little bit jealous, but she's really trying not to think about it. Because the situation is not permanent and she needs to remember that.

"What kind of movies do you like?" Trixie asks as she looks at Lucifer, blissfully unaware of any tension between the adults or whatever might be going on between them at the moment.

Well there's a question the Devil has never been asked before, at least that he can recall. "I like all sorts." He decides is the best answer. "There's good examples of pretty much all genres. Although romantic movies tend to be the most ridiculous." He admits with a little roll of his eyes. "As do horror. There's rarely anything truly scary about them. I find them more amusing than scary." He says honestly as he thinks over the different genres of movies.

"I don't like scary movies." Trixie says seriously, shaking her head a little. "I think they're really scary, and they give me bad dreams." She explains with a serious nod of her head.

Paying closer attention to Lucifer again, Chloe watches him and then turns a little to glance over the back seat. "Yeah, we don't like scary movies." She agrees with a shake of her head, smiling a little at her daughter. "Romantic movies are not ridiculous, Lucifer." She scolds after a moment. "Ok, well, some are. But there are a lot that are really sweet. PS I Love you always makes me cry, it's really sweet and amazing." She insists as she watches Lucifer.

Trixie smirks a little and she nods. "Yeah! Mommy always uses lots of tissues when she watches that movie. She only watches it when she's already sad." She explains as if that is very important information. Which to her it might be.

It's also a useful little nugget for Lucifer, who glances over at Chloe for a moment. "I don't think I've heard of that one." He muses as he tries to think over all the movies he's seen in the last five years. "You don't need to fear anything as long as you're staying with me, Beatrice. Nothing will hurt you. You have your mother, Maze and myself to protect you. No monsters or bad guys would dare come after you when you're with us." He says with a slight smile as he glances in the rearview mirror at Trixie, then turns his full attention back to the road.

For someone who clearly doesn't like being around children, or at least is uncomfortable, Lucifer is awfully good with Trixie, Chloe admits to herself as she watches him. She reaches over and puts a hand on his arm gratefully after he talks about how protected Trixie is, smiling when he glances at her before she removes her hand. "Maybe we'll just have to make sure you watch that movie, then." She insists as she watches him, wondering if she could get him to sit still long enough, and stay quiet long enough, to get through the whole movie.

With a brief roll of his eyes upwards, Lucifer shakes his head a little. "I think we have more important things to be doing than watching an overly emotional movie." He insists as he glances at Chloe, turning down another street that leads to Lux, weaving his way through traffic with confidence and ease, though without the quick moves he makes in his Corvette. The Mustang is a little larger and not as responsive, plus he is aware of his smaller passenger.

"Uh-huh. I think you're just trying to get out of watching it. Afraid you might like it?" Chloe asks, glancing at Trixie with a smile before she looks back at Lucifer, tilting her head a little as she watches him with amusement.

"Certainly not." Lucifer scoffs before he pulls in to the alley behind Lux and finally into his garage and the correct parking spot. "I was merely thinking of the work we need to do, Detective." He points out, giving her a meaningful look before he gets out of the car and straightens his jacket and cuffs as he walks over to the back of the car to wait for the other two.

Waiting for her mother to release her from the car, Trixie smiles as she gets out. "Are you working on a new case already, mommy?" She asks, sounding a little surprised as she grabs her bag and scrambles out of the car, walking over to Lucifer and taking his hand with another big grin as she looks up at him.

"Yeah, monkey. Just a little one. I'm just doing boring paperwork for it right now, but Lucifer was helping me." Chloe explains vaguely as she looks at her daughter, a little bit amused when she takes Lucifer's hand, mostly because she wants to see how her partner deals with that.

"What are you doing, child?" Lucifer asks as he looks down at Trixie's hand wrapped around his. "Your mother is there, go hold onto her, if you must." He adds after a moment, pointing with his free hand toward the Detective.

Trixie doesn't give up though, stubbornly holding onto Lucifer's hand. "Nope. I want to hold your hand, Lucifer. You've got really big hands." She notes as she looks at her tiny one holding onto his, before she looks up at him.

"She can be really stubborn, Lucifer. You might as well just give in." Chloe tries to remain serious and not to grin or start laughing as she watches her daughter tame the Devil himself. She's convinced that she'll have him wrapped around her finger if she doesn't intervene. Partially due to him having little to no experience with children, partially because Trixie is just Trixie.

Sighing a little in exasperation, Lucifer finally gives in and closes his hand around Trixie's. "Fine. Come on, then." He says before he turns to walk over to the elevator, pulling his keys from his pocket to release the call button before he puts the keys and his hand back in his pocket. He's trying to ignore the child whose hand he's holding because it's not as if he's getting attached or anything like that, he's only holding her hand because she wouldn't let go of him.

Once his back is turned, Chloe grins and shakes her head a bit at Lucifer, following behind them. She has to admit, the sight is endearing. And it's another case of Lucifer saying one thing and yet doing something that completely contradicts what he says. He really does have so many layers and walls. It's like a maze, filled with traps and defenses to keep people from getting close to him. Once again, she wonders if it was one thing or a series of things that really happened to Lucifer to make him have put up so many barriers to the real him. Times like this, she really needs to resist the urge to just hug him. Instead, she crosses her arms as she follows the two into the elevator, sighing a little and taking a moment to just close her eyes and review the day, put things away in their proper boxes to be reviewed later or to be ignored altogether. She wants to be more settled before she helps her very perceptive daughter with her homework.

"Everything alright, Detective?" Lucifer asks as he looks at her over the child standing between them. It's not only Trixie that is perceptive, and he's trying to distract himself from the spawn's hand in his, and the fact that it's not entirely horrible. Her hand is so small and fragile, it's actually bothers him a little and makes him feel a little more protective of the child. It bothers him to think of how easily she could break. Which is why he's trying not to think about it and distract himself with more pleasant things. And anything to do with the Detective is much more pleasant.

Opening her eyes and blinking a little, Chloe nods. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about the case." She reassures as she looks at Lucifer for a moment and then smiles when the elevator doors and she steps into the penthouse, stopping when she sees Amenediel standing there.

Lucifer lets out an exasperated sigh as he sees his brother. "Right. Detective, why don't you take your spawn and show her the bedroom, while I deal with my brother?" He asks, extending the hand Trixie is holding toward Chloe.

"This place is so big!" Trixie says in awe as she steps out of the elevator to look around, looking at Amenediel uncertainly for a moment. She takes the hint however and releases Lucifer's hand, going over to her mother. "That's Lucifer's brother?" She asks in a soft tone to her mother.

"Yes, monkey. Come on. Lets go back and let Lucifer talk with his brother. They don't always get along." Chloe explains in a quiet tone as she puts her hand on Trixie's back and nudges her toward the hallway and back toward the bedroom.

As the two disappear down the hallway, Lucifer walks over to get himself a drink from the bar, before he feels ready to deal with his self-righteous brother and turns toward him irritably. "Honestly, does no one call ahead in this family? Mum and brother in one day. What do you want?" He asks with his usual sarcasm, taking a drink from his glass as he glares down his brother.

To say that Amenediel is surprised when he sees Lucifer with Chloe and her child – and the child holding Lucifer's hand – would be an understatement. He's not sure why the Detective and her child are here, but he knows it must be a recent development because they weren't here a few days ago. "Mother mentioned you were acting odd. She was concerned." He states, before he adds, "Why are they here. Luci?"

Giving an exasperated sigh with a roll of his eyes toward the ceiling, Lucifer finally returns his attention back to Amenediel. "Not that it's any of your bloody business, /brother/, but Chloe's house burned to the ground two days ago. I generously offered to let her and her spawn stay here until other arrangements can be made. Except we found out today that the fire was deliberately set. So her stay will be a bit longer. Is that alright? Should I check with you next time I offer hospitality to someone?" He asks with frustrated sarcasm, always being amazed at the audacity of his family to think they should have any sort of control over his life, especially after what they did to him already.

"You really are changing, Luci. You must truly care for the Detective and her child, otherwise you could have just paid to have put them in a hotel." Amenediel observes as he looks at his brother, actually a little concerned. He knows the more his brother gets involved with humans, the less likely he will be to leave Earth. And the more upset their Father might get. While He may have allowed Lucifer to stay on Earth for now, that may not last. Worse than that, if Lucifer gets attached to these mortals, what might happened if one of them gets hurt, or they die? He already made a bargain for Chloe's life with their Father, what more might he do?

"Why does me changing scare you so much, brother? I told you a year ago, and I'll tell you again. My life /is/ change. Just because you're struggling with your own life changes, don't take it out on me." Lucifer says irritably, starting to get a little angry at his brother's constant interference and judgment of his life just because he can't figure out his own life and have more control over it.

Amenediel shakes his head a little as he watches his brother. "You don't think things through, Luci. You're short-sighted and impulsive. You always have been. Getting attached to these mortals is not wise. Even if your Detective could give you what you desire, if she could possibly accept you for who you are, and love you.. Even if that happens, she will age and you won't, brother. You'll have what, fifty or sixty years if you're lucky, and then what? She'll die, and go to Heaven. You will never see her again. And you will continue to live on, for eternity." He explains slowly to his brother, trying to make him see what a bad idea this is.

Lucifer glares at Amenediel, taking slow steps closer to him, movements more predatory the longer his brother keeps talking. "Yes, because I'm just the Devil, I'm evil, isn't that right, brother? Isn't that what you've insisted over and over?" He asks as his anger rises, his voice rising a little as well. "I'm the worst of the worst, the Fallen Son, so obviously no one could care for me, is that what you're saying, brother? Well, it's not as if my own Father or my siblings cared, did they?" He asks, eyes turning red as his anger boils close to the surface. "You're right, /brother/." He fairly spits the word 'brother' at Amenediel. "I have changed. And it has been my interaction with humans that has changed me. But you know what? Father wanted that, didn't he? He wanted us to care for and look after these humans." He demands as he glares at Amenediel. "Here I am, once again doing Father's will." He spreads his arms out to either side, sounding disgusted. "But for once. One bloody time in my miserable life, Amenediel, I don't care. Because these humans that you look down on, they're the first friends I've ever had." His voice cracks a little, and he swallows before continuing in a softer tone, the red fading from his eyes."In a millenia, the Detective, Linda, Ms. Lopez. They are the only friends, outside of Maze, that I have ever had. The only ones who don't judge me, who accept me for who I am. Is it any wonder that I want to stay here?" Shaking his head for a moment, Lucifer looks down into his drink before he looks back up at Amenediel. "Five days or fifty years, I will take whatever time I have with the Detective. And do you know why?" He asks as he watches the play of emotions over his brother's face. Which in itself is a surprising thing to the normally stoic angel. "Over the last few days, I've realized that I very well may be in love with the Detective." He explains in a soft tone, finishing his drink before straightening, his voice becoming firmer again, his anger obviously still there.. "Now. Get out of my bloody house." He orders, stepping back and pointing toward the elevator.

Not knowing what to say to any of what Lucifer just said, and a little rocked by everything, Amendiel just nods a little, knowing that if he pushes further, it might expose one or both of them to the humans in the next room. He decides that retreat is the better part of valor and moves to the elevator. "We'll talk later when you're not so worked up." He finally says as he waits for the elevator doors to close.

And doesn't that just set off Lucifer's anger again. With a shout, he throws his glass at the elevator doors, watching it shatter. At least it was empty. He takes a few deep breaths as he looks at the mess he made, shaking his head a little. "Bloody Hell.." he mutters, annoyed with himself.

Having heard the raised voices but knowing to stay out of it, Chloe hurries out when she hears Lucifer yell, and she stares for a few moments as she looks between the glass near the elevator, and then Lucifer. "Lucifer. Are you ok?" She asks as she looks around. "Did Amenediel leave?"

"I'm quite fine, Detective." Lucifer reassures, glancing at Chloe and then away quickly, not wanting her to see the emotions in turmoil just beneath the surface. "And yes, he's gone. You and the spawn can work on homework out here if you wish. I'll just clean this up." He says as he starts to move toward his bar to get a rag.

Chloe isn't convinced though and she walks over toward him, reaching out to put her hand on the back of Lucifer's shoulder gently. "Hey.. you know you can talk to me, right?" She asks as she looks at her partner.

Before she can touch him, Lucifer takes a slight step away and turns a little so he's facing her, holding up his hand to fend off her touch, not wanting comfort at the moment.. "Yes. I'm fine. I just need a few moments, Detective. Please. I'll get this cleaned up and then begin dinner." he explains in as calm a tone as he can manage, not wanting her to think that he's rejecting her in any way, he just needs a few minutes to himself.

Chloe jerks her hand back in surprise, remembering the only other time he reacted like that when she was going to touch his back. But she's touched him before like that and he's been fine. Or she's hugged him, and that's been ok too. So whatever just happened between him and his brother must have triggered something. It's been a while since she's seen Lucifer so bothered. "Yeah, yeah of course, that's fine." Chloe reassures in a soft, understanding tone, nodding a little as she looks at him. "Listen, we can talk later if you want, after Trixie goes to bed, ok?" She offers as she looks at him, but she doesn't try and touch him again.

"If you insist. I assure you, I'm quite alright, Detective." Lucifer reassures with a small, somewhat forced smile, before he grabs a towel and goes over to start cleaning up the glass carefully, well aware of how vulnerable he is with the Detective around.

"I thought you never lied to me, Lucifer." Chloe says as she looks at him, not wanting to push him too much, but at the same time she needs to know if he just slipped up, or if he honestly believes it. She stays where she's standing though, ready to go back to Trixie once she gets her answer.

Lucifer stops cleaning for a moment, his back stiffening as he thinks over what he just said. Maybe humans are rubbing off on him a little too much, the lie came too easily. Then again, although he'd never acknowledge it, he's always been very good at lying to himself. A little ashamed, he looks over his shoulder at Chloe. "I apologize, Detective. You're right. But that is the first time I've lied to you." He reassures as he looks at her, hoping she believes him. "Let me rephrase. I will /be/ fine." He says as he watches her.

Nodding a little with a smile, Chloe turns back toward the hallway. "Alright. I'll be with Trixie." She says before she turns and heads back to the bedroom, a little worried about Lucifer. She knows that he often has arguments with Amenediel, but she's never seen the direct aftermath of one. She never realized how much they truly bothered him. Or perhaps this one is just worse than the others. She still goes back to Trixie though, since Lucifer has never directly asked for space like that, she figures he must really need it. With her and Trixie around it's not like he gets the time alone he's used to.

Watching Chloe go for a moment, Lucifer finally turns back to clean up the glass before he goes to the kitchen, almost on autopilot as he gets things out for dinner. And yes, Amenediel's words bother him deeply, that his own brother thought of him as evil and probably /still/ thinks he's evil, but more than that, he revealed things he didn't even realize were true until it came out of his mouth. Thinking of Linda, Chloe and Ella as friends, for example. That's not something he thought about before. Neither was how happy he's been on Earth, or that he might actually be in love with Chloe. He knew he cared for her and might actually be interested in a potential relationship, but to be in love with her? Well, that's a little messier than he was expecting. Does it change any of his plans? Certainly not. Just one more reason to keep Chloe close to him if he can.


	10. Chapter 10

**The fallout from Amenediel's visit continues! Thank you all for your kind reviews, and for so may of you who are following this story, over 200 now! I decided to post this early as a thank-you to all of you who have followed and reviewed this! Plus, I really kind of love this chapter (and the last one, as well) and I want to see what you guys think. I hope you guys enjoy it as well! Please let me know what you think.**

**Reviews/Comments appreciated!**

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Dinner turns out well, most of the conversation provided by Trixie, who thoroughly enjoys the meal and has no problem detailing everything that happened to her in school. Which leads Lucifer to ask some questions about things that confuse him. Trixie gives the answers, even though she calls him weird or silly once or twice. Since there's enough time, Chloe agrees to let Trixie watch a movie and after getting them to the screen that lists his movies, Lucifer cleans up their dinner before he joins them on the couch. He's a little surprised when he finds himself with Chloe cuddled up against his side and Trixie sitting on the floor leaning against his legs. It's even more confusing to him that he doesn't find it repulsive a he thought he would. It seems the little urchin is growing on him, and he's not sure how to feel about that. The cuddling from the Detective, however, he finds more than welcome, and soon he's turned his body slightly to accommodate the position and make it more comfortable for Chloe, his arm around her. While the movie is ridiculous, he manages to remain quiet until the end, at which point Trixie is almost asleep anyway.

Chloe gets her daughter up and gets her ready for bed, glad that there is a small half bathroom she didn't notice before which will allow Trixie at least to use it in the middle of the night if she needs to, rather than stumbling up the steps and past Lucifer's bed to the big one.

Getting Trixie into some new pajamas and giving her some new stuffed animals, Chloe reads her a story until she falls asleep, and then looks up to see Lucifer standing in the doorway of the bedroom, looking conflicted. She puts her finger to her lips to keep him silent before she carefully gets up and turns the lights off before she walks over to him, putting her hand on his chest to push him out of the doorway and close the door behind her. "How long were you standing there?" She asks quietly before she starts to walk away toward the main room to let Trixie sleep.

"Oh, just a few minutes, Detective. I came to see what was taking you so long." Lucifer explains as he looks at her, the sleeves on his shirt rolled up to his elbows after the dishes and everything, and he's barefoot now which happened sometime during the movie. "Little early for us to retire, though. Any ideas what we might do?" He teases after he checks his watch.

"Yeah, actually." Chloe says as she turns to him when they get into the bedroom. She moves closer to him, looking into his eyes and resting one hand on his chest before she slides it up to curl it around his neck. Her look isn't seductive though, it's actually a little concerned. "How about you tell me what happened with Amenediel earlier?" She asks as she watches him. She might be sending mixed signals sure, but she's hoping her touch will keep him from being immediately defensive.

Actually being a bit intrigued by what the Detective is doing, Lucifer leans down just slightly toward her before her words register and he sighs as he straightens, pulling her hand away from him, his look disapproving. He's getting tired of reading into the mix signals Chloe is sending out and falling for her ruse every time. "Just a family squabble, Detective." He says as he turns away from her, going to get himself a drink before he walks out to the balcony, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and a lighter out of the other one to try and light up. Unfortunately the breeze coming through and an apparently incoming storm doesn't seem to want to let him light it, making him growl a bit in frustration.

"Lucifer." Chloe says as she follows him out, shaking her head as she walks over and plucks the cigarette from his lips and tosses it away. "You really need to stop that. Smoking is disgusting." She scolds a little, before she says, "I'm not going to go away. I know you're not getting the time alone you usually do, but you know, if you're serious about taking me out on a date if you win this bet, if you're wanting to explore some sort of relationship, then you have to be used to me being around, and you have to talk to me, Lucifer." She insists, lifting one of her hands to rest it on his arm, rubbing his bicep gently in a soothing gesture. "No matter what it's about, I'm sure I can understand." She reassures as she watches him.

Sighing a little in frustration, Lucifer returns his lighter to his pocket before he leans forward on the railing. "I'm sure you'll just think it's all another bloody metaphor, but if you insist, Detective." he says a little bitterly. "Amenediel believes it's unwise for me to be close to humans. Despite my Father's apparent acceptance of me remaining on Earth." He explains as he glances up at the sky, and then over at Chloe. "Oh yes.. and he /still/ thinks I'm evil. I'm the Devil, afterall. The embodiment of evil, according to you humans, so that /must/ be who I am." He says in frustration, glaring up at the sky for a moment. It's his bloody Father that's responsible for that particular slander afterall. "And as such, obviously it's impossible for anyone to truly care for me. It's not as if my Father or any of my siblings have truly cared for me. I committed the greatest sin they can imagine, I went against our Father." He's starting to get a little more worked up, sarcasm heavy in his tone as he talks about his family. He glances at Chloe for a moment. "He also blatantly said that no on could ever accept me for who I am." He continues to look at her pointedly. "Accept everything for who I am, the Devil side, the monster that is within me, the reason my brother thinks that I am evil, the thing that you refuse to see, Detective." He explains with a bit of frustration as he turns toward her.

Staring at her partner with her heart breaking, Chloe understands now why he always thinks so poorly of his family. How could anyone treat Lucifer like that, to his face, and expect to be forgiven for it. And as far as she can tell, this is how Amenediel has always treated Lucifer, like some sort of criminal, or monster, so much that they have convinced Lucifer of the truth of it. Maybe it wasn't him who created this persona for himself, maybe it was his family that convinced him of it. She sighs a little as she watches her partner, and she lifts her hands up to rest them on either side of his face. "Lucifer.. You're not evil, you're not a monster. The way you treat Trixie, everything you've done for me... you're not evil. I refuse to believe that you're the Devil, or evil, or a monster, because you're not, Lucifer. That's not the man I know. And out of anyone, I don't think you're capable of pretending to be someone you're not. That'd be an awful big lie." She insists as she watches him, confused since she isn't sure why he could possibly think that about himself.

"You're wrong, Detective." Lucifer says, grasping her wrists and pulling her hands away from his face, taking a step forward and walking her backwards away from the edge of the balcony a little. His tone is edged with pain and full of self-loathing as he watches the woman he's come to care for so much, perhaps even come to love if his slip-up earlier in the afternoon is anything to go by. "You've seen it before. You've seen what I can do. You've got all the evidence you need but you still refuse to believe. If I am what you say, then why would it matter if I were the Devil?" He points out in a firm tone, frustration coming to a head as he looks at her. "Or maybe you already do know it, deep inside, in a way that makes your stomach turn. That's why you've kept me at arm's length. That's why you once told me you find me repulsive. And perhaps you were right to. I have done nothing but put you in danger, Detective." He points out, his voice deepening into a growl. "But just in case there is any doubt in your mind, let me show you, Detective. Let me give you the irrefutable proof you need, that you refuse to see." His self-hate and pain evident in the roughness of his voice as he watches her, his hands loose enough around her wrists that she can easily break away if she desires. In the blink of an eye, his eyes turn from their soft, chocolate brown to oranges and reds that swirl around, reflecting the very fires of Hell.

Chloe has seen Lucifer get angry and frustrated before, but she's never been on the receiving end like this. She steps backwards when Lucifer steps forward, his grip on her wrists not hurtful, but it still surprises her a little. She doesn't really feel threatened but it is a little worrying the way he's acting. She can tell that he's self-destructing a little bit. She did worry this might happen the closer they got, the more emotionally intimate they got. She's never seen Lucifer able to deal with those things very well. That doesn't mean it doesn't sting, of course, but at least she somewhat understands. "Lucifer." She says before his eyes change and she gasps a little, her eyes going wide as she freezes. There's no way that can be a special effect, she literally just watched it happen. It's not possible for it to be a trick, and that freaks her out a little, sure. She is frozen in place as she stares at him, not exactly scared of him but she is shocked, not able to stop staring at his eyes. It's true. That's the only explanation, it's the only thing that fits everything that she's been denying for the last year.

"Now you see, Detective. You've been wrong." Lucifer growls out, releasing her wrists, his eyes returning back to normal as he looks at the expression on her face. Sure, it may feel like he's just been impaled through the heart to see her looking at him like that, but it's better to do it now. "Maybe you were right all along. How could you care for the Devil, for something like me? Spend the evening with your spawn." He says before he moves away, stopping by the bar to pick up a bottle and a glass before he goes into his bedroom and removes his shirt before he sits on the edge of the bed to stare out the windows, his back toward the rest of the penthouse. He pours himself a drink and downs it almost immediately before pouring himself another as he tries to drown the sea of emotions that have stirred up inside of him. He knows what he just did, what he probably just lost, but in his mind it's what's best for Chloe. She deserves to find happiness with a human, not a creature like him.

Once Lucifer is gone, Chloe's eyes drop to the ground as she tries to process everything she just saw and heard. Every single thing Lucifer has told her over the last year, all his freak outs, his comments about family and himself, it all settles into place with her new knowledge, making more sense than ever. She eventually sits down in one of the patio chairs, taking a few deep breaths as she leans over on her knees. Her partner is he Devil. Heaven, Hell, it's all real. And the big question is what does she do now, now that she knows her partner is the literal Devil, on vacation from Hell, helping her solve crimes in LA. It's completely ridiculous and it's all she can do in that moment to keep from dissolving into hysterical laughter.

In the end, it comes down to one simple truth. Even if Lucifer is the Devil, he's certainly not like all the stories say, and that one truth explains every single thing, including the fact that he's never lied to her about anything. It doesn't explain how he bled when she shot him, but the only way to find the answer will be to ask. And no matter what, it doesn't change the man that he is. It doesn't change what he's said, how he's acted. It only means that his family is screwed up on a slightly bigger scale than she thought. Everything she said to him earlier about him not being evil, or a monster, that's still all true. He is still one of the best men she has ever known, and she admits to herself that her feelings haven't changed. The mystery of Lucifer Morningstar has just finally been solved. Mostly. Slowly recovering herself, Chloe takes a deep breath and stands to walk back inside the penthouse, quietly shutting off most of the lights before she approaches the bedroom slowly. Seeing the scars on Lucifer's back again makes her sad, remembering what he said about cutting his wings off and how he was trying to get them back. Truth. He literally hated himself so much that he basically cut off a limb. And that makes her incredibly sad. Slowly, she steps over and sits down beside Lucifer, close enough that their shoulders brush, before she reaches over and takes his glass from his hand, finishing it with a small wince at the strength of the whiskey, before she hands it back.

Thoroughly surprised to see the Detective beside him again, Lucifer just stares at her for a moment, his eyes still a little glossy with emotion. "What are you doing? You know what I am now. Who I am. Why are you here, shouldn't you run away now?" He asks as he stares at her, having calmed down a little at least in the time that she took to figure things out.

"That's what you were expecting, isn't it?" Chloe asks as she looks at Lucifer for a few moments, really taking the time to look at him, trying to see anything she should really be afraid of, and not able to see it. "You're.. the Devil. Which is a real thing apparently." She says with a small nod as she looks at him. "But.. you always have been, right? Nothing's changed. I still don't think you're evil, Lucifer. Nothing you have ever done has been evil." She reaches out and puts her hand against his stubbled cheek, keeping him from looking away. "Nothing has changed. I'm not going anywhere, Lucifer." She reassures softly as she looks at him, thumb gently brushing his cheek.

"Detective.." Lucifer says softly in a breathy sort of tone full of awe as he watches her. He tilts his head into he hand ever so slightly, not knowing how he ever managed to find this woman who looked into his eyes, looked into the fires of Hell themselves, and decided he was still worthy.

Smiling a little to reassure him, Chloe slowly removes her hand from his cheek, before she takes a deep breath. "So.. you weren't kidding. About Maze cutting off your wings.. trying to get them back." She says as she watches him. "What really happened to them?" She asks, leaning back a little with one hand on his arm in order to see the scars on his back. "Why would you mutilate yourself like that?"S he asks, sad as she looks at his scars.

"Oh, yes, that." Lucifer says with a nod. Of course she would want to know about that. "I did it to piss off my Father, of course. God, in case you've forgotten." he says as he points toward the sky. "When I chose to stay here, in LA, was the same time I decided to stop playing a part in my Father's play. I had Maze cut them off to give my Father the most epic of birds." He explains as he looks at her. "I did find my wings.. their theft was Amenediel's doing. He was trying to get me to.. accept them again, and the throne they accompanied. So I burned them. I'm never going back there. I'm never going back to Hell." He says in a firm tone, pouring himself another drink and putting the decanter on the end table before taking a small sip of his drink.

Leaning back to look at Lucifer's back for a moment, Chloe shakes her head sadly as she tries to imagine such a thing. "I can't imagine how much that hurt.." She admits as she looks at him. "Wait.. what about Charlotte? You said she was your stepmother?" She asks, looking more confused since Lucifer said he didn't lie to her, and that surely must be a lie.

"Mmm. Yes. Well. Technically she was the one who said she was my stepmother." Lucifer says as he glances at her. "Technically, Charlotte Richards is dead. My mum is inhabiting her body now. And yes, she is a Goddess, equal in power to my father. Or at least she was. A few thousand years after I was cast out, He cast Her out of Heaven as well, imprisoned her in Hell. She escaped around the time we were dealing with Malcolm." He explains as he glances at Chloe. "I made a deal, with my Father. I was actually shot by Malcolm, and around you it would have meant my death. Long story short, I think my Father wanted me to return Mum to Hell. I decided on a better punishment for her, though. I sent her back to live Charlotte Richards' life. That is worse than Hell for her." He says with a little shrug, leaning forward on his knees a little and looking down into the glass dangling from his fingers.

"That was not in the Bible." Chloe says quietly as she tries to wrap her head around that. "And Amenediel is an actual Angel." She says with a slow nod. She keeps her hand on his arm as he leans over, watching him for a moment before she lifts her hand. "Do they still hurt?" She asks, having so many questions but she's trying to take them all one by one.

Shaking is head a little, Lucifer looks over at her for a moment. "No, not really. You can touch them, if you like. I can't explain why I stopped you that first time. Something about the way you looked at me, that you were so concerned over my scars, I didn't understand it." he explains with a little shrug as he stays where he is and waits for her touch.

Slowly lowering her hand, Chloe starts near the top of his shoulder and carefully runs her fingertips over the mangled flesh of his scar, trying to imagine Lucifer with big white wings. "Well, I guess the stories got one thing right. They always describe Lucifer – you – as being one of the most beautiful angels, and charming, too." She says with a little smile as she looks at him, flattening her hand on his back to run it over one scar before she reaches over to touch the other one slowly, enjoying the warmth of his skin.

A small chuckle comes from Lucifer and he nods slowly but otherwise doesn't move, enjoying the touch of her hand. "Yes, well.. except that I'm not blonde." He points out with a small smirk. "Any other questions for now, Detective?" He asks as he turns his head a little to look at her, a small smile on his face, rather relieved but still a little scared that the Detective is just in denial.

"Wait.. I shot you.. you said Malcolm almost killed you.. but then at that Satanic church place, you said only one angel could hurt another." Chloe points out as she looks at him. "Though now I understand why you wanted to see my back." She says as she looks at his scars.

"Ah yes. I was wondering when that might come up." Lucifer says before he straightens a little. "Now that you're in the know as it were, we really must test that." He takes a deep breath and sips his drink. "I have been, historically, invincible and immortal. And then I met you, Detective." he says as he turns slightly to look at her more squarely. "That night, when you told me I made you vulnerable and I told you you made me vulnerable as well, I was speaking fare more literally. I am still invulnerable. So long as you're not around. I'm not sure why yet, but you... you make me mortal, Detective. I can't exactly prove it to you of course, without a remote live camera feed or something." He trails off as he looks at her. "I'm still not sure what it is about you that makes you so different." he says thoughtfully as he watches her, tilting his head to the side a little before finally getting up. "I think that's enough for tonight. You should change for bed, perhaps we can watch your wretched movie before retiring." He offers, motioning to the TV on the wall across from his bed before he starts to move around her and the bed in general to get to his closet.

For the second time that evening, Chloe is utterly shocked. She makes the Devil mortal. Which brings up so many more questions, but she agrees that maybe that is enough for tonight. Before he can move too far away from her though, she grabs onto his wrist, looking up at him. "Thank you for telling me, Lucifer." She says quietly. "I know what a risk it was for you. And I know you probably didn't plan it, but.. thank you." She says with a small nod.

Turning his hand a little to grasp Chloe's wrist in return, he gives it a gentle squeeze as he nods. "You're welcome, Detective." He says before he finishes his drink, backtracking to retrieve the decanter and then walking out to put it away and finally return to slip into his closet so he can change.

Chloe licks her lips a little as she watches Lucifer go, making a decision as she gets up and goes into the bathroom to change, having stashed clothes in there earlier when Lucifer was cooking dinner. By the time she finishes washing up an changing, Lucifer is sitting near the middle of the bed, propped up on some pillows and manipulating the TV, probably to find PS I Love You which they had discussed earlier. "Maybe a different movie, Lucifer. I don't think I want to turn into a blubbering mess tonight." She says with a little smile, slowly starting to crawl over the bed toward him. But she doesn't stop beside him, she only gets up on her knees and puts her hands on his shoulders before she moves to straddle his lap, sitting back on his thighs as she watches him.

The TV suddenly holds no interest for Lucifer as his detective makes a surprising move. Lucifer puts down the remote and moves both of his hands to her hips. "What's this, Detective? Did you forget about our bet? You finding out the truth doesn't make it any less valid." He points out as he watches her, not that he's objecting if she wants to give up.

"We're not having sex, Lucifer." Chloe says in a firm tone as she looks at him, before she moves her hands to either side of his neck, thumbs brushing along his jaw gently, just in front of his ears. "I didn't forget about the bet." She reassures before she smiles a little. "But this is me giving up. Your flirting can be completely inappropriate sometimes, but I don't think I want it to change. Sometimes I need that distraction at crime scenes." She says with a little shrug as she watches him. "And I don't think a date with you would be so bad." She reassures as she starts to lean toward him.

"Are you sure about this, Detective?" Lucifer asks, giving her one last chance to change her mind as one of his hands slides up her back slowly to rest at the base of her neck.

Chloe just smiles as she looks at Lucifer. Who could ever think this man is evil? "Shut up." She mutters to him before she leans in and kisses him. She kisses him slowly, taking her time and enjoying the slight brush of his stubble, the feeling of his warm, firm lips against hers. She enjoys how he lets her lead the kiss, and she tries to convey her feelings to him, certainly in no hurry to end it and finally sliding one hand back from his neck to slide through his hair slowly.

Hurrying is not on Lucifer's mind either. He wants to savor this as much as his Detective does. Because at long last, she's kissing him. A real kiss, and not because of any influence of alcohol, but because she wants to. She genuinely desired to kiss him. And her taking what she desires is one of he sexiest things he's experienced in a long time. When she starts to pull away from the kiss, it's a little bit of a surprise, and he doesn't want to let her go just yet. He sits up a little straighter, away from the headboard to chase her lips, getting in another few soft kisses before he allows it to break completely. "Bloody Hell, Chloe.." he mutters as he looks into her eyes, slowly forcing his body to relax and leans back against the headboard and away from her as he licks his lips a little.

Giggling a little when Lucifer chases her, Chloe presses her hands against his chest, smiling as she watches him. "A deal is a deal, especially with the Devil. You told me that during our first case." She says with a little smile as she watches him. "So I guess, after we figure out the fire thing.. you have a date you need to plan." She says quietly as she watches him, feeling quite giddy with a strange sense of power. She very much doubts that Lucifer gives control over to many people, or any in fact, but throughout their whole 'deal', he's always given her a choice. To stop it, to give in, or to take her chances. And now, here he is, with her sitting in his lap, allowing her contro over their first real kiss. Which means a lot to her. She's very tempted to give in and kiss him again, but she's afraid that if she starts again, she won't be able to stop them so easily, and she is not going to have sex while Trixie is a room away and Lucifer has no door on his bedroom.

"Indeed it is, Detective." Lucifer says with a slight grin as he looks at her. "Well.. I like this new side of you. If I had known this would be your reaction, I would have shown you what I was ages ago." he jokes slightly as he looks her over, taking a deep breath as he admires her, before he looks into her eyes. "Mm. I know that look. I did also tell you that I'm very habit forming. I am completely at our mercy, Detective. Feel free to have your way with me." He grins slowly as he looks at her, his hands once again resting on her waist despite his own desires. His detective is very much like a wounded animal, something to be handled with care.

Not being able to help herself, Chloe laughs as she looks at Lucifer, shaking her head a little as she looks down at him. "I don't know if it would have gotten the same reaction if you had shown me that any time before now, Lucifer." She points out quietly before she smiles. "Don't get used to this, buster. Just because I've kissed you now doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want." She warns as she watches him.

Smirking a little himself, Lucifer nods and rolls his eyes slightly. "Yes, yes, Detective. Remain professional at work. Not around Beatrice. Don't worry. I'm quite willing to put myself in your very capable hands, let you take the reins as it were." He reassures as he watches her. "Should be a bit exciting. For me, at least. This is all new territory for me."

It's very difficult to resist Lucifer when he's being like this, and Chloe leans over to give him another lingering kiss which lasts a bit longer than she was originally intending before she uses her hands on his chest to push herself up and away. "Ok.. Yeah. I need to.. stop that, now." She says with a small nod of her head. Finally, she moves off of his lap to sit on the bed beside him. "You're wearing pants." She finally notices as she looks at his black pajama pants. Silk from the looks of it. Of course.

"Glad to see your powers of observation haven't failed you, Detective." Lucifer notes with a smirk as he folds his hands over his stomach. "I thought, with Beatrice just next door, you wouldn't deem it very appropriate for me to be walking around in my boxers, so.." He motions to his pants by way of explanation.

Chloe nods slowly for a moment and she smiles as she looks at him. "Very thoughtful of you, Lucifer." She says as she tries to suppress another smile. Thoughtful Devil. And at one point she thought he didn't care about anyone but himself. Slipping her legs under the covers, she finds the remote and hands it back to Lucifer before she slips her arms around his and cuddles up to his side. "Next time I see your mother or Amenediel, I've half a mind to hit them both, by the way." She grumbles a little as she thinks about what thy both did to him, and what they are still doing to him.

Lucifer glances over at her for a few moments in confusion when Chloe cuddles against his arm, before he gives a slightly nervous chuckle. "While I appreciate the sentiment, Detective, that is a horrible idea. Mum's powers are returning somewhat and you very well may break your hand. Amenediel has lost most of his powers, but he's still a very large man and you have very small hands. Again, it would be fairly hilarious to watch you take him down, but you might break your hand in the process, and I'd rather not see you in pain." He explains as he finds a random movie to watch. "So, if you want to hit either of them, I would suggest a baseball bat, or something." Smirking a little at that mental imagery, he nods a little. "I'd rather you not attack mum, but feel free to go after Amenediel all you want. Mum can be petty and vengeful, and if you see her, you should avoid her at all costs. Amenediel at least probably won't attack you in return. Well. You'll get one good hit in at least." He says with a bit of amusement. "I'm not sure what's brought this on, but it gives me a bit of the warm and fuzzies." He admits in surprise.

"I've wondered for a long time why you were the way you are, Lucifer. I didn't know you'd already explained most of it. God, Angels, it doesn't matter who they are. No one should treat their family the way you've been treated." Chloe explains in a fierce tone as she turns her head a little to look at the TV.

"My, my. Do go on." Lucifer looks Chloe over with a little grin, finding this newfound protectiveness over him rather attractive. It's also a bit ludicrous, given the cosmic scale they've been talking about, but attractive nonetheless.

"Shut up." Chloe grumbles a little, knowing that he's making fun of her now, so she decides to ignore him, which is an effective tactic when he's teasing her. She snuggles her head a bit more against his arm as she watches the movie on the TV though, zoning out a bit as she watches it until she realizes she's been tracing little patterns on Lucifer's arm with one hand, and she forces herself to stop. At least until she remembered that Lucifer said he sometimes likes being accosted by the various women he's been with, or that pass through his club. "Lucifer?" She asks softly as she starts to stroke her fingers over his bicep slowly.

Since the Detective seems to desire silence at the moment, Lucifer grants it, falling silent as he watches the movie and merely enjoys the presence of Chloe beside him. When she finally speaks, he tears his attention away from the movie to look down at her. "Yes?" He asks curiously as he watches what she's doing. He always enjoys her touch, especially when it's so unconsciously done. He shifts a little while he waits for the inevitable question, crossing his legs at the ankle before settling back down.

Instead of looking up at him, Chloe just focuses on where both of her hands have ended up curled around Lucifer's bicep. "Your family.. they weren't particularly.. affectionate, were they? I mean, even in the very beginning when everything was nice and good, when you were a child?" Now that she knows the truth, a few more things sort of clicked into place as she was watching the movie.

Taking a moment to think back to the beginning and what his family was like before God decided to create humanity, Lucifer shakes his head a little. "Well.. no. Not particularly. I think the most affectionate we ever got was wing-grooming. Settling a feather back into place for one of my siblings, or them doing the same to me. We never really hugged or anything like that. And of course after I was cast out, if a touch wasn't sexual, then it was violent." He says honestly as he looks at the ceiling as he thinks about it before slowly lowering his gaze back to look at the top of the Detective's head. "Why do you ask?" He asks, tone still quiet because he's actually very relaxed and feeling rather content with this moment.

"Oh.. I just noticed that, besides the attention it obviously gets you, you seem to enjoy physical affection. At least being on the receiving end of it." Chloe muses, shrugging a little with a small smile. "You said it's 'rather nice' when women felt you up in the club.. You said you 'adore it' when women play with your hair.." She finally moves her head to look up at him for a moment. "And you certainly seem to like the way we've been sleeping the last few nights." She smirks a little again up at him, rather amused with her own observations and almost daring Lucifer to deny them.

"Ever the Detective." Lucifer says with amusement as he watches her, taking a deep breath. "Have you been talking to Linda?" He asks skeptically after a moment as it occurs to him, looking at her for a few moments, but at least he still seems mildly amused. "I do enjoy everything you've said." He agrees as he looks at her. "I also quite enjoy it when /you/ touch me in any way, Detective." He murmurs playfully as he watches her, then he chuckles a little. "Of course, my reaction to your touch likely has more to do with you than any pleasure I take from affection in general." He notes as he looks down at her hands on his arm. "I am putty in your hands, Detective." He murmurs in a slightly lower tone, smirking as he continues to watch her.

Rolling her eyes a little, Chloe shifts until she can prop herself up a little more to look at him properly. "Yeah, you might make me think that. I can't see you handing control over to anyone. Not really." She points out as she looks at him, the hand not keeping her upright still resting on his bare shoulder.

Arching an eyebrow slightly, Lucifer smirks, "Care to test that theory, Detective?" He asks flirtily, waggling his eyebrows because he knows it's not going to happen tonight but he can't help but tease her. "Planning on having your way with me?" He continues to tease as he looks her over, crossing his arms which only accentuates his physique.

While he does look delicious sitting there shirtless in silk pajama bottoms, clearly as much at ease like this as he is in his 3-piece suits, or that he probably would be naked, Chloe is not about to give in. Not tonight, and probably not any time soon. "No. Not yet." She says with a little smile. "I think I'm going to sleep." She leans forward and kisses his cheek softly, next to his lips. "Goodnight, Lucifer." She says before she moves away a little and turns to lay on her side so her back is to him. She's not super sleepy, but she forces herself to breathe evenly, wanting to see what he might do if she stays like this. If he'll try to sleep on his back or if he might cuddle.

Clearly a little confused since it's still kind of early and he was enjoying their conversation, Lucifer just watches as Chloe gets comfortable. "Goodnight, Detective.." He says slowly as he looks at her, turning off the TV and the light before he rearranges the pillows and slides down in the bed. It doesn't take more than a few moments for him to realize sleeping by himself while Chloe is a foot away and not even facing him, is not something he likes. Slowly, he turns on his side toward Chloe. "Detective?" He asks in a quiet tone, and when she doesn't move, he reaches out to place his hand on her waist, thumb rubbing back and forth for a moment. "Chloe?" He tries again when she still doesn't move. Such a heavy sleeper, he muses. But since she still doesn't stir, he moves up behind her, sliding his arm around her waist slowly and the other under the pillows. Taking a deep breath of her scent, he slowly presses a kiss to her bare shoulder. "What /are/ you doing to me, Chloe?" He whispers as he watches her, before closing his eyes.

Staying still and not responding is quite a difficult thing for Chloe. She almost smiles at the tone of Lucifer's voice, the confused, curious little boy. She does allow herself to let out a small sigh and relax back against him which presses her back against his chest, goosebumps rising over her skin with his kiss and his whispered words. She has a brief debate with herself on what to do, before she shifts a little again like she's half-woken up, her hand moving down to where his arm rests around her stomach and she smiles a little. "Lucifer?" She mumbles a little as she starts to squirm around onto her back without moving out of the circle of his arms.

"Right here, darling." Lucifer reassures quietly as he opens his eyes to watch her, hoping she didn't hear him. But perhaps the change in position was enough to wake her up afterall.

"Mmm... okay.." Chloe whispers before she turns over the rest of the way to face him, snuggling up with her head just under his chin, one arm sliding around his waist as she cuddles up into him. "Don't run away." She mumbles as she honestly does start to drift off.

"Never." Lucifer promises, smiling slightly and tightening his hold around Chloe as he rests his head against the top of hers, curling around her protectively. If he still had his wings, he can imagine wrapping them around the detective as well. And it's like this that he drifts off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you guys so much for your lovely reviews to the last chapters! You're awesome, and they seriously made my day, every time I got them. I'm re-writing some of these chapters as I go, so I apologize now for any inconsistencies. Let me know what you guys might want to see after this case is all wrapped up. I'm probably going to close out this story with the conclusion of it, but I'm already thinking of continuing it in a sequel. This originally was going to be two chapters, but I didn't like leaving it in the middle like that, so I decided to combine them for you. :) Thank you so much again for reading , and I hope you enjoy!**

**Comments/Reviews appreciated (and encouraged)!**

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When Lucifer wakes up in the morning it's in the familiar position on his back with Chloe against his side. He must have rolled over in his sleep, he's not used to sleeping on his side. But then he realizes why exactly he woke up so early when he sees Maze standing over him with her arms crossed. When she seems like she's going to speak, Lucifer quickly puts a finger to his lips before glancing at Chloe. Carefully, he extracts himself from beside her, very surprised but grateful that he didn't wake her up. Grabbing his robe he motions Maze to follow and walks out to his living room. "I hope your early morning visit means you've found something." He notes in a quieter than normal tone as he watches his demon.

Maze looks highly amused as she follows Lucifer to the livingroom. "You and Decker finally get it on?" She asks with a bit of amusement. She's still kind of pissed at Lucifer for the manipulations, but that doesn't mean she can't be glad that Lucifer might finally be able to purge his obsession.

"No, Maze. She's been through something awful. She found it comforting to share my bed." Lucifer says with frustration. "Keep your tone down, the spawn is in the guest room." He tries to sound imperious when he says it, but it's hard for him to pull it off when he's actually sounding like he cares about the child. "Now, do you have some news or not?" He asks as he looks at her, a little impatiently.

Snorting a little as she watches her former master, Maze shakes her head. "You're going soft, Lucifer." She says before she takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I got a lead. Caught the scent of the bomber. He's slick, but I got him. Stashed him in the tunnels for now. I might have been a little overzealous when I took him down. He's out cold. For now." She says with a little shrug. "You gonna tell her?" She asks, jerking her thumb toward Lucifer's bedroom, though at least she does keep her tone down. Not for Chloe, but for Trixie.

Lucifer considers that as he glances toward his bedroom. "I'm not really sure. She.. found out the truth about me last night, Maze, and she's taken it rather well, but I don't know if she's ready yet to do things.. a little outside the law, or see what either of us is truly capable of." He muses, putting his hands in the pockets of the robe for a moment. "I'll let the Detective bring the child to school, stick around in case the bomber wakes up. If I'm not here, I want you to text me when he's conscious." He says in a firm tone as he watches Maze.

Maze's eyes go wide for a moment as she realizes that Chloe knows. "Wow. And she's still here? Now I'm impressed." She doesn't mean it as an insult to Lucifer, just that most of the time when humans find out about the reality of the Devil, they either wet themselves or run screaming. Sometimes both. "Yeah, I'll let you know when he's conscious. I'm going downstairs to get a drink. No way he's getting out of my ropes." She says with a little smirk before she turns to head back toward the elevator.

A bit annoyed with the way Maze put it, Lucifer sighs and glares slightly at her. He understands her meaning, but it twinges a bit more, after what Amenediel said the night before. "Yes, you've always been good at restraints." He says with a slight smirk, waiting until she's gone before he gets himself a drink. Glancing back into the bedroom, he gulps it down before he heads back up, planning on rejoining Chloe. It's at least an hour before they have to get up anyway. He might as well enjoy that time rather than risk waking anyone up by moving around.

"Mm.. W'time is it?" Chloe mumbles as she wakes up when Lucifer gets back into bed. She takes a deep breath and rolls back onto her side instead of her stomach a little so Lucifer can lay back down before she cuddles back up to him, hiding her face against him for a moment.

"Too early for you to be awake." Lucifer reassures quietly as he slips his arm around her again and gives her a gentle squeeze. "It's nearly an hour before you have to get up." He murmurs reassuringly as he watches her, smiling in sort of a confused, baffled way as she hides her face in his shoulder.

Letting out a little bit of a sigh, Chloe turns her head and rubs her cheek against Lucifer's skin in a very catlike way, still not fully awake. "Oh.. everything ok?" She asks as she settles back down, her thumb stroking over his ribs where her arm rests across his stomach.

Watching Chloe with a little smile, Lucifer nods a little and hesitates before he tilts his head to press his lips against her head for a moment. "Yes. It was just Maze reporting on a project I had her working on." He reassures softly, starting to trail his fingers along her back slowly.

That gets Chloe's attention a little more and she yawns before lifting her head and turning so her arm that was around him is bent and laying over his chest, her chin on the back of her hand and practically half laying on top of Lucifer now. "I thought you and Maze weren't getting along." She says in confusion, licking her lips a little as she tries to focus and wake up a little more.

While he enjoys the positioning a great deal, he was hoping to slip this past his tenacious Detective. It seems that even half asleep she's more attentive than most of the human population when they're awake. "Oh, well, just because she's striking out on her own doesn't mean she won't help me when I need it." He explains dismissively, as if it's a given. "It's nothing for you to worry about, Detective." He reassures as he watches her, using his free hand to brush her hair behind her ear and then over her shoulder. "You know, I could think of, oh.. half a dozen more interesting ways to spend the next hour than talking.." He offers with a seductive tone as he watches her, maybe trying to distract her a little, but he's always going to be himself, and with Chloe pressed so close to him he can't help himself.

Rolling her eyes a little, Chloe can't help the small smile that comes to her lips. "I'm sure you can." She replies, amused by his attempt to seduce her, once again. "For the time being, that's not going to distract me." She lets him know that she knows darn well what he's doing before she sighs a little. "Does that mean Maze is doing something you know I won't approve of?" She asks pointedly as she lifts herself up a little more so she can see his face better.

Not having to hide his true self from Chloe any longer has some advantages, and Lucifer swiftly switches their positions, rolling them over so Chloe is beneath him, since he thinks it will be more comfortable for both of them. He keeps himself propped up over her with his arms and one knee resting between hers. "I suppose I'll just have to try a little harder to distract you.." He leans closer to her for a moment, but while she did give a squeal and a small laugh when he flipped them, she now looks unhappy at his attempts to distract her. Sighing, he pushes himself back up a little, watching her. "Technically, I'm not sure if you would approve or not. Yet. I'm fairly sure you wouldn't like her intentions." He offers without giving anything away. "It has to do with your house, and the less you know, Chloe, the better." He insists as he watches her. "I told you we would find out who set the fire." He reminds her, "I take threats on your life very seriously, Detective." He adds in a more serious tone.

Chloe is a little shocked and breathless at being flipped so fast, but she recovers quickly as she looks up at Lucifer. That's going to take some getting used to if he does that a lot. She takes a deep breath an puts her hands on his biceps as she listens to him. "Ok.. I know the whole.. Devil.. Demon.. thing.. makes me understand why you don't always feel like you have to follow human laws, but.." She pauses as she tries to consider how to phrase it. "I can't have another situation where you're getting hurt, or something happens and I can't cover for you because I don't know what's going on. Good or bad, you need to tell me everything if you want this to have a chance to work, Lucifer. Because we're partners, and I do not want to lose that, but if you're doing something illegal, and you get caught, I won't be able to help you if I don't know what's going on." She says in a serious tone as she looks at him, wanting him to trust her even if she doesn't approve. And yeah, she may give him a little more leeway in this particular instance since the person burned down her house and put her daughter in danger.

For a few moments Lucifer watches Chloe, wondering if it's worth the risk, or if she'll want to actually watch the interrogation. That could be dangerous because she may never see him or Maze the same again if the allows that. Taking a deep breath, Lucifer nods slowly as he meets Chloe's eyes and for a moment gets lost in their depth. "Maze found the arsonist. We won't know until he wakes up if he was working alone or if someone hired him." He says as he watches Chloe. "If he was working alone, you're welcome to him. If he was hired by someone else, well.." He trails off. "Maze will have another manhunt on her hands. I'm sure she'll be delighted." He says with a bit of a smirk as he watches Chloe, tilting his head to the side slightly as his focus shifts to her lips. Despite last night, sharing a bed with her at night, and her acquiescence to their date, he's still a little nervous about initiating anything. He's never wanted a relationship with someone. And with Chloe, everything matters, which is not something he's used to either.

"So she.. or you.. or both... are going to.. torture it out of him, I'm guessing?" Chloe asks a little awkwardly since she is uncomfortable with the idea of torture, but then again, this guy set fire to her house. And she's not worried about Maze pulling in the wrong guy, the woman is nothing if not thorough it seems.

Lucifer thinks about that and then shrugs slightly. "Perhaps. I may be able to persuade it out of him without actually torturing him. It depends on how difficult he is." He answers honestly, before he shifts, preparing to sit up and way from her, since it feels a little odd to be talking about this with her in this position.

Sliding her arms up, Chloe buries one hand in his hair and the other sliding around his shoulders to hold him in place when he starts to move. He's not getting away from her that easily. Of course, he very well could just drag her with him. "I'd prefer it if you could do it without torture." She admits honestly, hesitating before she lifts herself up a little and kisses the side of his jaw slowly.

Thoroughly distracted by Chloe's actions, Lucifer settles back into his previous position and he smiles a little as he looks at her. "Mm. Detective.. are you sure I can't distract you for a little while?" He murmurs with a slight grin, his voice having dropped into his lower, more seductive tones.

Giggling a little at how easy it is to distract him, Chloe just pulls him down for a hug, stroking her fingers through his hair a little as she does. "Distracting you is so easy." She murmurs playfully before rubbing her cheek lightly against his briefly, then releases him and lays back on the bed. "Get off, so I can take a shower and get cleaned up." She insists, pressing her palms against his chest.

Confused and surprised when he's pulled down into the hug, he nuzzles briefly against her in return before rolling off her and sitting up. "Oh.. care for some company? I could wash your back." He grins, unable to help himself. He keeps hoping that maybe some day she'll say yes. And that day will be sooner rather than later, now that she's at least agreed to a date. Though with his Detective one never knows, it took her over a year to even kiss him.

"Not today, Lucifer. We may be up early, but I don't have time to shower, and fend you off at the same time." Chloe teases, but at least she doesn't discount the notion altogether. "Ask me again next time Dan has Trixie." She says after climbing off the bed, pausing to reach out and cup his cheek for a moment as she speaks, smiling before she heads to the bathroom.

"Detective, I would never do anything you didn't desire. I think I've proven to be able to control myself. I've had you in my bed three nights so far." Lucifer reminds her, before he grins. "Ohhh.. having some naughty ideas already, are we, Detective?" He asks, intrigued as he sits up and watches her go. He doesn't really expect a response and he doesn't get one, instead stretching back out on the bed and listening to her move around the bathroom. Not that he can hear a lot even with his angelic hearing.

When he hears the shower turn off, Lucifer gives it a ten count before he gets up and walks to the bathroom, knocking briefly before he opens the door and steps inside, smirking a little as he sees Chloe in front of the sinks with one of the large towels he owns wrapped around her body.

"Lucifer!" Chloe gasps in surprise, but her tone still comes out as scolding. "What are you doing?" She demands with a small frown, putting one hand against the top of her towel even though it's in no danger of falling down at the moment.

"You were taking forever in the shower, Detective. Honestly, what /do/ you do in there?" Lucifer asks as he looks her over for a moment, stepping up to the sink beside hers and starting to take things out, his toothbrush, a razor and a beard trimmer.

Slightly agape about Lucifer obviously not intending to go away any time soon, Chloe sighs in frustration. "I like long showers, that's all. And you do have a pretty amazing shower." She admits as she looks at him for a few moments, then she looks at what he's pulling out almost in confusion. She has never given much thought to how he remains as groomed as he always is, and now she puts a hand over her mouth as she giggles slightly. Even the Devil needs to shave. Somehow, that's comforting.

Lucifer doesn't seem bothered by any of what's going on as he listens to Chloe, starting to brush his teeth before he hears her giggle. Leaning over the sink a little with one hand flat on the counter, he glances up at her in the mirror, removing the toothbrush from his mouth. "Whatever is so amusing, Detective?" He asks before he goes back to it.

Pressing her lips together to keep from laughing again, Chloe shakes her head a little. "I just, uh.. I have never, ever pictured you doing something this mundane." She says as she motions to him and the things on the counter. "I guess it's just.. funny to me. The literal Devil is standing beside me brushing his teeth." She says with another little giggle. And since she isn't getting rid of him any time soon apparently, she turns back toward the mirror and goes back to toweling her hair dry a little before she starts to brush it out. She's just a little more careful to make sure her towel isn't going to fall down.

After rinsing out his mouth, Lucifer puts his toothbrush aside and smiles softly as he looks at Chloe, watching her for a moment. "Yes, well, this kind of perfection doesn't just happen on its own." He teases as he motions to himself, not bothering with brushing his hair or anything since he does still need to take a shower. "And you do seem to object to morning breath." He winks at her in the mirror as he picks up his beard trimmer.

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Chloe grins slightly as she starts to brush out her hair, watching Lucifer in the mirror curiously. Of course she's seen men shave and things like that before, she was married for quite a few years, it just seems such a strangely normal thing for Lucifer to be doing. He's always been such an enigma, so ethereal almost. And now that she's seeing more sides to him, normal sides to him, it's harder and harder for her to believe his whole playboy persona. Putting her hair up in a bun, Chloe shakes her head a little as she looks over at him. "You know, it's really hard to believe that anything last night was real." She says quietly as she sorts through her products and starts to put on her makeup, what little she normally wears. Seeing Lucifer staring at her with concern, she smiles reassuringly. "I still believe you, Lucifer." She hesitates, and then turns toward him, waving her fingers in a sort of 'come here' motion. "Just.. just for my own self-doubts.. show me again." She says as she looks at him.

He should have expected this, with the Detective's ability for denial being so high. Lucifer finishes the last few swipes with the trimmer before he turns to her. "Very well, Detective." He says quietly as he turns toward her, looking into her eyes and focusing for a moment before he allows the Hellfire to turn his eyes the swirling red that causes most humans to recoil in fear.

Since she was expecting it this time, Chloe has more of an opportunity to examine him. Using one hand to make sure her towel stays up, she takes a small step closer to Lucifer as she looks into his eyes, lifting her hand and touching his cheek lightly. Shivering a little, she's a little surprised when he blinks and his normal dark gaze is back. "Hey.. it's ok." She reassures as she sees the look of concern on his face. "I'm not afraid. It's just.. so odd, and yeah, maybe a little unsettling because eyes are not supposed to.. swirl." She says with a small shake of her head, dropping her hand from his cheek to rest it on his chest over his heart gently. "Definitely real. There's no way you could fake something like that."

"You have a truly amazing capacity to delude yourself, Detective." Lucifer says with a small shake of his head as he watches her. "However, I have underestimated just how /good/ you are. Proof that I am the Devil himself, and here you are, standing calmly without so much as a tremor." He looks baffled as he looks at her, rather amazed and again wondering just what it is about her that makes her different.

"That's because I know you, Lucifer. You remember that time in the warehouse when I shot you? I think I got a glimpse of your eyes in a reflection, then. And yeah, it scared me, because I didn't understand it and I didn't really know you. That's why I shot you. I needed to know if I was just imagining things, or if there was really such a thing as the Devil. Even then, I did aim for your leg. But now I know who you really are, Lucifer. And I know you're not evil." Chloe reassures, lifting both her hands carefully – mindful of her towel – to rest them on his cheeks before she pulls him down for a lingering kiss, enjoying the slight mintiness of it.

Resting his hands lightly on Chloe's hips, Lucifer relaxes under her touch as he responds to her kiss, taking a small risk and deepening it a little as he tilts his head, not wanting to send Chloe running, but at the same time wanting more.

Very slowly, Chloe breaks the kiss after a minute, smiling and licking her lips a little. "We should finish getting ready." She says in a soft tone as her hands drop from his cheeks to his shoulders.

Making a small noise in disappointment as Chloe pulls away, Lucifer sighs as he looks into her eyes. "Not exactly what I hoped you would say, but very well." He notes, smirking a little as he releases her gently and turns away back to the sink to run some water and trim up his stubble with the razor, briefly glancing over at Chloe in the mirror as she goes back to putting on her makeup. After he finishes he puts everything away before he turns and walks over to turn the shower on. Chloe may be shy about her nudity but Lucifer's already proved that he certainly isn't. He doesn't mind Chloe being in the room as he showers.

"Lucifer.. what are you doing?" Chloe asks in a slightly wary tone as she sees him at the shower, though she suspects she already knows exactly what he's going to do. And at this point she's not even surprised. If Trixie weren't down the hall, she might even enjoy the show.

"I'm going to take a shower, of course." Lucifer says as he looks at her, as if it should be obvious by what he's doing. "Don't worry, Detective. I don't mind if you stay and enjoy the view." He reassures with sexy grin. Though he at least spares her a little to turn his back on her as he sheds his pajama pants and boxers and steps into the shower.

Much like the first time she saw him naked, Chloe's jaw drops a little. And although he has a spectacular backside, it's more in surprise at his audacity. And it does help that she doesn't get a full frontal view this time. She still can't help the small laugh of disbelief as she stares at him. Maybe staring a little longer than she should, but he did give her permission and watching the water flow over his body as he runs his hands through his hair is practically porn. Clearing her throat a little, she turns back toward the mirror and shakes her head, focusing on finishing up her makeup. When she's finished, she turns toward the shower and stops in her tracks because – of course – Lucifer has turned around. Logically, she realizes that he needs to wash himself, but she was not prepared for naked Lucifer, full frontal, his hair wet and slicked back.

"See something you like, Detective?" Lucifer asks with a slow grin and a slight arch of an eyebrow, knowing exactly the effect he's probably having. He at least pretends like he did this for a purpose, snorting a little as he moves around the bottles of shampoo that have multiplied since Chloe started staying, in order to get his own.

Chloe nearly chokes for a moment, and ends up coughing once as she tries to get some words out. "I'm going to go get dressed. My, um.. clothes.. are in Trixie's room." She says as she tries not to get distracted by Lucifer. Not even realizing that she labeled it as 'Trixie's room', not the 'guest bedroom', or the 'other bedroom' or anything like that. Resolutely, she turns her head away from him, even if the image will be burned behind her eyelids for the rest of the day. Forcing herself not to look at Lucifer again, she puts one hand against her cheek, feeling the heat radiating off them as she steps out of the bedroom and closes the door behind her. For a moment, she leans against the door and closes her eyes to calm herself down. Not to replay that scene over again. Definitely sinful. Definitely bordering on porn. Chloe may not believe the Devil is evil, but she does believe he is Temptation itself. Eve never stood a chance.

Dismissing those thoughts, Chloe forces herself to walk out of the bedroom, mentally cursing when she realizes she forgot her dirty clothes in the bathroom. Which includes her underwear. She just hopes that either A) Lucifer doesn't go snooping or B) he doesn't comment. Neither of which are likely but maybe he'll take pity on her after what he just pulled.

Though her feet are moving, Chloe doesn't remember the actual journey from Lucifer's bedroom to Trixie's room, stepping inside and going to get some clothes before she shakes Trixie a little. "Time to get up, Trix." She says, smiling a little at the groan she gets in response. "Come on. If you get up, then we can stop by that donut shop on the way to work." She offers, thinking they both deserve a treat after the last few days.

"Really?" Trixie asks, still groggy but definitely more attentive now as she turns and looks over at her mother, rubbing her eyes a little.

"Yeah. You know, after the last few days, I think we both need a treat." Chloe explains with a little smile. "Let me just get dressed and then I want you to wash up, alright?" She says as she moves to the little half bath that she swears used to be a closet since it seems like it was added as such an afterthought. After she puts on her underwear she hesitates and looks at herself in the mirror, recalling Lucifer's words from yesterday – was it just yesterday? - about the underclothes. She has to admit, they do look really good on her. They are comfortable, too, and they do make her feel sexy. She hates it when he's right, but as she adjusts them a little and turns to the side to admire herself, she can't deny that he is. Smiling a little, she finishes dressing quickly so that Trixie can wash up, and she takes out some clothes from the bags and leaves them out. She doesn't usually pick out anything for her daughter anymore, but since she hasn't put her things away yet, she figures this will be easier.

Closing the door behind her and trusting her daughter to get ready on her own, Chloe heads to the kitchen to start some coffee, looking through cabinets until she finds everything she needs, and getting Trixie a glass of orange juice for when she comes out. She is hiding a little, she acknowldges, leaning back against the counter and biting her thumb nail as she tries to figure out how she's going to handle potentially dating Lucifer. So yeah, ok, they're sort of doing things backwards. Sharing a bed and kissing and... nakedness... and they haven't even had a real date yet. But as long as he can separate their personal lives with their professional ones, she thinks they'll be fine. She is a little worried about what sort of fancy thing Lucifer might come up with for a date, but she made her decision and she doesn't regret it. She made a deal with the Devil, the thought of which sends her into giggles, a hand covering her mouth.

~oOo~

Once Chloe leaves the bathroom, Lucifer makes quick work of washing up, smirking a little to himself as he thinks of the look on her face. She's not as unaffected as she might seem. And it might help his ego a little to know that even though his normal allure or appeal or whatever it might be called, doesn't work on the Detective, it doesn't mean that she's unaffected by him. Objectively, he is very attractive, but even he can use confirmation once in a while. Especially when it comes to a certain blonde. He can't take anything for granted when it comes to her.

Finishing in the shower, Lucifer dries off and puts the towel around his waist as he dries his hair, collecting his clothes and the Detective's to dump them into a hamper, reminding himself that he needs to got to the dry cleaner's at some point. Stepping from the bathroom to his closet, Lucifer considers for a few moments. He has to be professional at work, the Detective has made that clear, but that doesn't mean he can't wear something to catch her eye. Smirking a little, he selects white shirt which is ever so sightly transparent in certain lighting, as well as a black jacket and slacks for contrast, and a red pocket square. Fully dressed now, Lucifer is adjusting his cuffs as he wanders out into the penthouse and looks around for his Detective. While he's thinking of it, he places her car keys on the bar to tell her about later, before continuing his search. He doesn't immediately see his wayward Detective, finally stopping the search to listen and hearing laughter from the kitchen which piques his curiosity. "And just what is so amusing, Detective?" He asks with a little smirk as he steps in to see her.

A little surprised, Chloe looks up and she grins a little before she shakes her head. "It's silly." She waves her hand a little and then smiles again when she sees Lucifer waiting for her to explain. "I just thought.. You know.. our bet. I made a deal with the Devil." She says as she motions toward him, giggling a little again. "I don't know. That just seemed funny to me." She says as she sobers, biting her lip a little and feeling a little silly.

"Ah." Lucifer says with a small nod as he takes a few measured steps toward her, smirking a little. "Well, a deal is a deal.. especially with the Devil." He paraphrases from the beginning of their partnership, though he watches her with a mix of fascination and confusion. "What makes you so different, Detective?" He asks after a moment. "I've never met a human who didn't scream, or wet themselves upon seeing just my eyes change. And here you are making jokes. You're not affected by me at all, and you make me vulnerable." He observes as he watches her, still not understanding that.

Turning to get herself a cup of coffee when she notices that the machine seems to be done, she gets out a second mug for Lucifer. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm /completely/ unaffected by you, Lucifer. It's just not in the way you're used to." She says with a somewhat shy smile as she looks over at him. "But no matter how angry you got, I know you'd never hurt me." She explains, then continues, "Like.. you remember after Father Frank died? That's probably the most angry I have ever seen you, and yeah, it scared me a little because I've never seen that side of you before, but even then, I wasn't scared for myself. Last night is the most physically aggressive you've ever been towards me, and I was still more worried than scared. And even though I could tell you were angry, your hold on my wrists wasn't tight. You were barely holding on at all." She explains a she looks down at her wrists, making her coffee and Lucifer's coffee to occupy herself. "Maybe to everyone else you're scary, or dangerous. But to me, the Devil is my friend, my partner... And you're one of the best men I've ever known." She explains, picking up the coffee mugs and offering one to him. "Oh my G-.. osh." Chloe catches herself and changes what she was going to say, suddenly understanding all those comments. "That night, at my house, before you went AWOL for three weeks, when I told you you made me vulnerable, and you said I made you vulnerable, you meant literally, didn't you? It wasn't the emotional part that flipped you out, it was the whole bleeding thing, wasn't it?" She asks as she puts everything together.

At first, Lucifer is rather smug about being able to affect the Detective, thinking about her reaction to him this morning, before he quietly listens to everything she says, "I suppose that does make a certain amount of sense. And you are right, I would /never/ hurt you." He reassures, arching a eyebrow as Chloe almost calls on his father. "Nice save." He says before he accepts the coffee and takes a drink. "Very good, Detective!" He praises, grinning, then nods and adds, "I literally had figured it out in that moment. You see, that horrible charity woman shot me, three times in fact, in this very penthouse before the party. And they didn't affect me at all, just like I told you. I tried cutting myself with a knife later, just to be sure. Of course, you weren't anywhere around. So I went to your house to test a theory. I tried to cut my hand, behind my back just then.. And it worked. I bled." He says with a small shrug, looking down at his hand and flexing it a little even though there's no scar. He drinks his coffee as he looks back up to watch Chloe curiously.

"I guess that explains why you were avoiding me and why you were so weird.. The way you wanted to check my back.. You were looking for wings, right? To see if I was one of your.. siblings? Do you have so many that you don't know them all on sight?" Chloe asks in surprise as she watches him.

Rolling his eyes a little, Lucifer takes another drink of his coffee. "It's been a millenia since I was cast out, Detective. At that time there were much fewer of us. More angels were undoubtedly created until my mum was cast out as well." he says thoughtfully with a shrug before he looks over at the door, raising his voice. "We're in here, child!" he calls as he hears Trixie coming down the hallway.

The door opens mere moments later, and Trixie grins brightly. "Good morning, Lucifer!" She says cheerfully, climbing up onto a stool sitting at the island. "Was I fast enough, mommy?" She asks cheerfully.

"Yes, good morning, Beatrice." Lucifer says politely but also a little dismissively. "What does she mean, fast enough?" He asks curiously of his Detective, wondering what she has in mind.

"Oh.. I told Trixie that we could stop by her favorite donut shop when I took her to school." Chloe explains, putting the glass of orange juice in front of her daughter, and drinking her own coffee. "I figured I could take her and meet you at the station. Since you have some business to attend to? With Maze?" She asks pointedly as she looks at him, arching an eyebrow.

While a little disappointed he won't be driving with the Detective today, Lucifer knows that he can't really object, and he does want to be around when their arsonist wakes up. "That reminds me. I have a new set of keys for your car. They were dropped off while you were pouring over some paperwork yesterday. I put them on the bar." He says with a slightly sheepish smile since he did hide them from her a little. "I suppose I should go down and check on Maze." He says thoughtfully. "Text me if anything comes up, Detective. Otherwise, I'll let you know when I finish." he offers, finishing his coffee and going to put his cup in the sink to deal with later.

Before he could escape though, Trixie turns on her chair and holds her arms out to him like she wants a hug. She will get off her chair if she has to, but she's trying to avoid that. "Have a good day, Lucifer!" She says with a broad grin as she looks at him.

For a moment, Lucifer just looks at Trixie with confusion and a bit of distaste. He glances at Chloe, but she's obviously going to be no help, and is no doubt hiding a smile behind that mug of hers. Even the Devil can't fight against Trixie's hopeful little face though and he sighs a little. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing, child." He points out, but he still moves over and leans down to allow her to hug him, patting her back awkwardly with one hand.

"You're funny." Trixie says with a grin as she hugs Lucifer's neck tight for a moment, giving his cheek a kiss even before she allows him to escape.

The kiss earns Trixie another confused and slightly grumpy look before he shakes his head a little and straightens, adjusting his clothes as if they could be wrinkled somehow by such brief contact. "Well. I suppose I will see you later, Beatrice." He says with a small nod before he walks out quickly to escape this uncomfortable situation.

Once he's gone, Chloe giggles a little and she walks over, offering hand for a high-five to her child. "Good job, Trixie." She says with a little grin. "Come on, finish your juice." She urges, finishing her coffee and rinsing out both mugs at least before she dumps out the rest of the coffee from the pot and rinses it out as well.

Giving her mother the high-five, Trixie chugs the rest of her orange juice and then licks her lips "I like it here." She says as she carefully slides off the stool, bringing her glass over to the sink for her mother to rinse out. "How long are we staying, mommy?" She asks as she looks up at her mother.

"I don't know, monkey." Chloe says honestly, putting her hand on Trixie's shoulder gently. "For a little while, at least. Mommy has a case to finish, and then I have to look for someplace we can live. I'm sure Lucifer won't want us here too long, Trix. This is his home and we're just guests." She reminds her daughter, trying to make that clear for the both of them, no matter how much Lucifer seemed to imply they could stay indefinitely. After last night, it's clear that he needs his space for a reason, and she doesn't think he's really ready to have them there in a more permanent way.

"Oh.. ok. I'll go get my bag." Trixie says in a disappointed tone before she pushes out of the kitchen to head back to the bedroom in order to get her bag.

Chloe steps out as well to get her shoes before she sighs as she looks around. She'll never find a place like this for herself, and she knows it will be difficult to go back to some small, cramped apartment which will probably be all that she can afford on her salary. Yeah, it would be nice to stay here, but she can't just move in with Lucifer. They don't even know if the dating thing will work, and if that doesn't, then it will be really awkward while she tries to find a place to live. Which is what she should have been doing in the first place. Pushing those thoughts aside she shakes her head a little since she has more important things to deal with right at the moment. Getting her boots on, she glances up as Trixie comes out with her bag. "Come on, Trixie. Lets go get donuts." She says with a big grin for her daughter before grabbing her keys that Lucifer left on the bar and heads toward the elevator.


	12. Chapter 12

**I cannot thank all of you enough for your reviews and encouragement. It's amazing. It really does make my day, knowing that you guys enjoy reading it as much as I like writing it. For those of you that requested it, I have a scene in my head of how Lucifer will regain his wings, but I don't know if it will fit in yet. I am re-writing a few scenes though, so I might be able to get it in. I hope you guys still enjoy reading this! This was an interesting chapter for me to write. And thanks again for reading!**

**Comments/Reviews appreciated (and encouraged)!**

* * *

Tugging at his sleeves as he steps out of the elevator into Lux, Lucifer glances around for a moment until he spots his demon, and he pours himself a drink before he motions. "Lets go see if our guest is awake, shall we?" He asks with a smirk that borders on predatory, watching Maze closely as he takes a drink out of his glass.

A small shiver goes down Maze's spine at that look, despite herself. It's been a while since she saw that look on Lucifer. Her old master is still in there somewhere, then, Maze muses before she grins and nods from where she was standing beside the bar. "If he's not, I could wake him up." She says eagerly as she turns to lead Lucifer down one of the back hallways to a door that she unlocks which leads underneath Lux into one of the old Prohibition tunnels. And from there into what used to be a liquor store room during that same era. Their 'guest' is strapped to a metal chair there, which is bolted to the floor. This isn't the first time they've needed to use inelegant measures to extract some information, or extract some punishment.

Slowly, Lucifer move around in front of the rather nondescript man who is indeed awake, and starts struggling more as he sees them, though not much can be made out through the gag. "I'm afraid neither of us is here to let you go, Mr. Arsonist." He says in a smooth tone, his smile tight and without humor, almost cruel. As soon as he stepped into the room, his demeanor changed, his movements smooth and deliberate, in the way a big cat might look when hunting their prey. He makes a motion toward their captive with a glance at Maze. "Scream as much as you like, no one will hear you down here." He reassures the man as he takes a sip of his drink slowly, savoring it as he waits.

Nearly vibrating with anticipation, Maze moves forward and pulls out one of her knives to cut the gag away from the man. Sure, she could have left it intact to possibly be used later, but this is a little more dramatic and a lot more intimidating. Stepping back away from him, she twirls her knife around in her hand for a moment, just for effect. She knows in this case, she won't do anything unless Lucifer allows it. Given what this man did, and how Lucifer has obviously become attached to the human Detective and her child... well, she doesn't want to lose a hand or something. Which at the moment she thinks the man beside her is perfectly capable of.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The man in the chair demands as he looks between them. "Listen, I don't know what you think I did, but just let me out of here, and I won't even go to the cops or nothin', ok?" He offers a little desperately as he tries to tug on his bonds again, as if something will have changed in the last five minutes.

Shaking his head slowly, Lucifer finishes his drink before he hands off the glass to Maze without looking at her. "I'm afraid not... You see, you're a very bad man." He says as he looks at the man in front of him. "And you've done some very bad things. It seems that you enjoy playing with fire." He explains in his silky tone, watching as the man's eyes widen a little as he realizes why he's there. "You're going to tell me why you set fire to a particular house. One occupied someone who is a very dear friend of mine, you see." He slowly removes his jacket as he speaks, laying it over the back of the one empty chair in the room, casual as can be. He glances up at the man briefly before he starts to roll up his sleeves slowly. "You're going to tell me if you were hired to do it. Then you're going to tell me why you did it. And then maybe, just maybe, we'll let you go." But there's a threat behind his tone that implies he may not be in one piece.

"I don't know what you're talking about, man. I didn't torch no lady's house." The man denies with a firm shake of his head as he looks between the two for a few moments, the panic definitely having set in. "Besides, lighting up a cop's house, that ain't smart." He points out as he continues his frantic glances between the two before focusing on Lucifer since he seems to be the bigger, more immediate threat.

A cold smile spreads over Lucifer's face again as he looks at the man in front of him, finishing rolling his sleeves up and then pulling over the extra chair, setting it in front of the man before sitting down in it. Crossing his legs and for all the world looking like he's conducting an interview or holding court, Lucifer watches the man with an almost perversely pleased expression. "I never said it was a woman, or that she was with the police." He says casually, watching the man wince a little. He plucks an imaginary fuzz off his slacks before he looks back up at the man in front of him. "That was your second mistake." He says in a cold tone, before he moves forward inhumanly quick, going from at ease and relaxed, to looming over the man within a second, his hands on the arms of his chair. "I despise liars." He says in a deeper, rougher tone, a small growl behind his words. "Lets try this again, shall we?" He asks with a slight sneer before he straightens and turns away a little toward Maze. "Maze,would you be a dear? Start with his fingers. So many little bones." He says in a cold tone as he steps toward his demon, holding his hand out to take the glass back from her.

Looking delighted at the entire situation, Maze grins as she looks at her master – the Devil himself – adoringly, before she returns the glass obediently. "Oh this is going to be fun..." She says with a broad grin as she turns and struts toward the man, starting on his left side since he's right handed and she's not entirely without mercy. Despite the changes going on in her life, and her attempts to adapt to life on Earth, this is what she was literally born to do, torture humans while her creator, Lucifer Morningstar, looks on. That's why he called her to Earth five years ago, except this time she knows that he wants the man to feel pain, and she is more than glad to give it. If being with that human – Chloe Decker – brings out this side in Lucifer again, maybe there's some good to it afterall.

~oOo~

In the end, it takes a little over an hour for Lucifer to be satisfied that they have the information he needs, and far less damage than Maze is satisfied with. At which point he glances at Maze as he rolls his sleeves down. "Put him somewhere the police will find him. Preferably with some sort of incriminating evidence." He doesn't even think about the order as he grabs his jacket and heads toward the door. He knows it's going to take a little while for him to shake off the familiar numb coldness he pulled around himself to be able to step into his old shoes as torturer to get the information, so he just pulls out his phone and texts Chloe the pertinent information.

_Arsonist guilty, but only a hired gun, as it were._

_Investigation continues. Police should have arsonist in custody by noon._

_Be in later. Need to talk to Linda. -LM_

It might be a little abrupt and impersonal, without even his usual devil emoji, but he knows if he tries to force it, she'll know something is even more wrong. Maybe she'll just think he's in a hurry. He does go upstairs to take another hot shower and change into a different suit with a white shirt. Not so much because he got dirty, but because for the first time he /feels/ dirty. And he doesn't want to face the Detective like that. Not when she is so good, and righteous and pure. By the time he gets out of the shower, there's a return text from the Detective.

_Wow. Ok. Are you ok? -Chloe_

Looking down at his phone for a moment, Lucifer tries to figure out how to answer without lying as he gets himself a drink and downs it quickly, sighing before he heads for the elevator, finally deciding on what to tell the Detective.

_Not really. Linda should help. I'll be in once I'm back to myself. -LM_

The Detective must have been waiting for his reply because her own is swift. Lucifer sits in his Corvette and looks down at his phone for a moment with a sigh. Bloody things. Cellphones are wonderful things, sometimes. But a lot of the time they are not.

_Back to yourself? I don't understand. I'm worried. -Chloe_

_If you still want to know, I'll try to explain. Meet me at noon, at the beach, I'll text you the address. -LM_

Lucifer sends the message and texts her the address of the beach where he first arrived on Earth six years ago, before putting his phone away. He doesn't know if he wants to see Chloe's response. Pulling out of his spot, he drives toward Linda's office, hoping that she'll have at least a little time to see him since there are a lot of things that he needs to talk to her about.

She shouldn't be surprised anymore, but when her door suddenly opens and Lucifer steps in, Dr. Linda Martin still jumps a little. "Lucifer." She says in relief, shaking her head a little. "We don't have an appointment." She's more surprised than anything about him showing up, since he doesn't usually just pop in unannounced. Well, alright he does sometimes. But normally he does actually need to talk, he's not frivolous when it comes to his appointments. So she can't really deny him when he does pop in like this, and she can already tell that her patient has something on his mind. After a year of treating him, she's gotten to be able to read him somewhat at least.

"No, you're quite right, Doctor. But I've had an.. interesting few days, and then had to do something today which should have been relatively easy. And it was. But it... felt different. Like the ease with which I did it was.. wrong." Lucifer explains as he looks at Linda, looking and feeling utterly lost about some of the things that have happened to him in the last few days.

It's fairly obvious how much distress Lucifer is in, and Linda can't turn him away when he's like this. "Alright, sit down, Lucifer, and explain from the beginning." She says as she briefly checks her calendar to make sure she has some time before she steps around her desk to take a seat in her chair facing the couch.

Sitting down and pouring himself a glass of water, Lucifer explains everything from the night of the fire, his interactions with Chloe, her staying over, the bet, Trixie's presence, and the few kisses he and Chloe had shared. Despite his true feelings about all of these developments which he is truly pleased about, it all comes out sort of flat and detached, like he's talking about someone else. Even when he talks about the anger he felt when he found out the fire was deliberately set and the many punishments he wanted to enact on whoever was responsible. "Maze found the arsonist and brought him to Lux this morning." He finally concludes, and this seems to be the crux of the problem if the shift in his expression to something a little more vulnerable is anything to go by.

"That is a lot that happened, Lucifer." Linda says with a small nod of her head, even though she's sure that the whole 'devil reveal' thing is just another part of his metaphors and has more to do with Chloe just accepting Lucifer for everything he is. Which is just as good and essential for Lucifer to experience. "I take it you didn't take him straight to the police?" She asks, a little worried about her patient and what he could have done. It's clear he has a lot of protective anger over whoever tried to hurt Chloe.

"No. We did not. They would have taken too long to get the information we needed. The Detective needs answers, and she needs to be safe." Lucifer says in a firm tone. '"We found out what we needed to know and then Maze delivered the man to the police. But that's not the problem. Six years ago, I was King of Hell, as I had been for eons of course. And I was a torturer. I didn't enjoy it, of course, it was just a job, but it was on that I did well. It wasn't until the sessions with you, Doctor, that I realized to cope with that, I had distanced myself from it. Become someone who was cold and unfeeling."

"And when questioning the arsonist, you fell back on old habits?" Linda guesses as she looks at the man in front of her. "But you're not the same man anymore, Lucifer. You know that, you just told me. So what's really bothering you?" She asks as she tilts her head to the side a little.

"You're right, doctor. I'm not the same as I was six years ago." Lucifer agrees as he leans forward on his knees, looking down at his hands. "It was easy to step back into those shoes. The problem is.. It's much harder for me to step out. It feels like I stepped into quicksand, and it's trying to pull me in and keep me. I can't be around the Detective like that. She may have accepted me being the Devil, but I can't be around her like this She deserves more."

Linda nods a little as she watches him, internally very proud of the man that Lucifer has started to become in the last year since she started treating him. He may still be delusional about the whole Devil thing which is frustrating, but she's seen tremendous progress in him emotionally. "We all have our coping mechanisms, Lucifer. Ways to protect ourselves from being hurt. This.. detachment that you feel, it's not the only way you've learned to cope. You have been able to move forward, to let your guard down, at least around Chloe. And that's a huge step. You said she accepted all of you last night. I think you need to trust her. Trust her to accept you. All of you." She thinks about it for a few moments. "For now.. I want you to think about last night. How you felt when she stayed instead of leaving, when she finally trusted you, and herself, enough to give in. When she kissed you." She still can't believe that really happened and honestly listening about these two is better than any soap opera. "I think focusing on those feelings will give you back the control you want."

Doing as he's asked, Lucifer thinks about the night before, how she finally gave in to her desires, the feel of her kiss, the touch of her hand on his back and across his scars, how she felt in his arms and the way she asked him not to run away. Slowly, he feels cracks start to form in the shell he had placed around him during the interrogation, before it shatters as he recalls the way she trusted him to come when she called, the night of the fire. The way she immediately hugged him, taking comfort from him even before, when they were strictly friends and partners. Yes, she deserves more than the playboy he once was, and Lucifer is determined to give it to her. He's still scared of what Chloe might think if she ever sees that side of him, but for now he hopes to keep it from her.

Linda watches her patient carefully, the way his body language changes and his shoulders relax. And whether he's aware of it or not, the small quirk of his lips and softness in his expression as he does wha she asked.. "Well. It's no wonder you needed to talk to me. I think that's the most you've ever said in a single session. But this is good." She observes as she looks at him. "And I think it's wonderful that you're starting to open up to Chloe, and that she's accepting you for all that you are." Of course she still hasn't figured out what precisely the 'Devil reveal' thing is a metaphor for, knowing that Lucifer is a physical specimen so it must be something else. But she can skip over that part because the important takeaway is that Chloe accepted him completely, 'ugly side' (Hah! Not possible, she thinks) and all. "I knew it wouldn't be as scary as you seemed to think it would be." She says with a little smile. "Though maybe you are taking it a little fast with her living with you and everything, even though I think it was an amazing thing for you to offer, given the circumstances. You've made a lot of progress, real progress, since our last session." She says proudly as she looks at the man in front of her. "As you've already seen, Chloe is far more open-minded than you've given her credit for, and more understanding. I'm sure that this darkness you're struggling with, is something she understands. I'm sure she's felt the same hatred, the loathing you described, toward some of her suspects on particularly hard cases. You should just tell her what's going on. Don't hide this from her, you don't want anything to sour what is building between you. Even if it means showing her another side to yourself, you should explain the way you distanced yourself from the interrogation." She advises as she watches him.

"And what if I tell her, and she finally understands, sees me... for the monster I really am?" Lucifer asks as he looks at Linda worriedly, feeling a little scared of that after everything that's happened. "She says she has no problem with me being the Devil because she knows me, and she knows that I'm not evil, but what if she's wrong, changes her mind?" He asks, leaning forward toward Linda a little as he watches her with vulnerability he hates showing, but he is learning to open up more in his sessions with Linda.

Smiling patiently at one of her more eccentric patients, Linda nods a little. "You aren't a monster, Lucifer." She reassures after a moment. "Everyone will go to some pretty extreme lengths for those they care about. And from what you've told me in the past, Chloe is the first woman you've felt this way about." She reminds him in a gentle tone, pausing and watching him nod in agreement or acknowledgment before she continues. "Finding someone to connect to on an emotional level, and someone you're allowing yourself to grow close to is all very good, of course, but it's going to make everything more new, more complicated." She considers her next words before she continues. "If she can handle, as you say, the truth about you being the 'Devil'-" She uses air quotes because she still thinks that's a metaphor for something, but the important part is that he's opening up to someone. "- then I think she'll be ok with what you told me. You didn't enjoy it, you didn't do it for fun. You did it to help right a wrong, bring justice for Chloe. In an odd way it's almost sweet." She says but shakes her head a little at the idea that she is calling the torture of another human being, possibly sweet. Her world has certainly gotten stranger since she met Lucifer Morningstar.

"It's not as if she won't find out." Lucifer checks his watch, then says, "The man should be in police custody by now, or at the very least in the next hour. I just hope she doesn't find out before I've had a chance to talk to her." He looks away from Linda, frustrated and sighing a little. "These emotions, relationships.. they're extremely frustrating and confusing, Doctor." he says in an annoyed tone, leaning back on the couch and placing his hands at the edge of the seat on either side of his knees.

"Yes. Yes, they are." Linda acknowledges as she looks at him, reminding herself that while he is a grown man physically, in the realm of emotions and romance he's very much still like a teenager. "But they are worth it. Remember what you told me, how you felt when she finally did kiss you?" She prompts as she looks at him. "Or how you said it felt when she trusted you to keep her safe and sober, and to not take advantage of her at Lux?" She asks, leaning forward slightly over her crossed knees to watch him more intently.

A soft smile crosses Lucifer's face as he remember that and he nods slowly. "Yes, I admit it was quite a rush. And kissing her is..." He trails off, staring at a spot to the left of Linda as he tries to figure out how to describe it. "I've kissed a lot of people, men and women, and my apologies doctor, but kissing her is.. so much /more/. It's... It's like heaven. Or how you humans describe Heaven. Which is nowhere near close to the real thing. So bloody boring, and Uriel's self-righteous welcoming speech-!" He rolls his eyes a little as he thinks of his brothers, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Lucifer." Linda says in a firm tone to bring him back to the matter at hand, and off his tangent. Something she's learned she needs to do occasionally with her ADD man-child of a patient. "Those feelings that you're describing, that's what makes it worth it. All the frustration, confusion, and yes, sometimes pain as well, there's no avoiding any of that. But the happiness I just saw on your face.. That's worth it, don't you think?" She asks, tilting her head to the side a little as she watches Lucifer curiously. Even before when he would talk about Chloe, Linda is sure that he never allowed himself to feel what he is feeling now. She's honestly never seen him express such genuine happiness, and she's so pleased that he's come far enough to be able to experience such emotions.

With a slightly self-conscious smile, Lucifer glances at Linda and then away a few times before he nods, looking down at his lap for a few moments. "Yes. I suppose it is worth it." He says slowly, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Linda. I knew coming here was necessary before I saw the Detective." He seems relieved, sitting back on the couch and adjusting his jacket a little, seeing much more at ease now. He glances at his watch, "Oh.. I promised I would meet Chloe at the beach at noon. With traffic, I should leave now just to be sure." He says before he gets up swiftly. "Thank you very much, you're brilliant as always, Doctor." He says before he turns and sweeps out of the room. He's still worried, he still has his doubts, but he feels a little more confident at least, and more like himself. Less like the Devil, more like Lucifer Morningstar.


	13. Chapter 13

**Bit of a shorter chapter, but maybe a calm before the storm. Thanks so much again to everyone who is reading this. I post because of you lovely folks. It makes me happy every time I see a review come in.**

**On a side note, if you have any one-shot requests/ideas that you'd like to see me do, either an offshoot of this story, or just in general, let me know. I like doing quick little stuff as sort of a palette cleanser, or getting me back into the right mindset before I get back to my main stories.**

**And once again, thank you so much for your support, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (and encouraged!)**

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Traffic is surprisingly light (for LA) on the way to the beach, so Lucifer parks and walks down onto the sand, removing his jacket because it's a bit warm even for him, looking out at the water as he remembers the two other big events that happened on this beach. He feels Chloe approaching before he hears her, her presence soothing and like the light of the stars he once strung in the sky.

Chloe has been pretty worried about Lucifer all morning, especially with his cryptic texts. She hasn't gotten much work done but did hear about the arsonist who was found pretty beat up and confessing to at least lighting the fire at her house. "Hey.." She says as she gets close enough to Lucifer, putting her hand on the back of his shoulder lightly before she steps up beside him. "Are you ok? Your texts really had me worried. Why are we on the beach?" She asks in confusion as she looks around.

"Hm? Oh. This beach.. it's where I landed when I came to Earth 6 years ago. It's also where Maze cut off my wings, and where I burned them. I suppose coming back here right now was a bit of a sentimental move. But it seemed appropriate." Lucifer explains in a thoughtful tone as he looks down at Chloe for a few moments. "I'm quite alright now." He reassures, looking out at the water. "I was... disturbed earlier. I'm sure you've guessed by now that Maze and I.. questioned.. the arsonist." He says cautiously, glancing at his Detective briefly before looking away. "I felt it much easier than I expected to.. slip back into that persona, as it were. The true Devil, the torturer. And much harder to come out of it. I didn't want you to see me like that. I thought I had left it all behind when I came to Earth. I resolved to live a new life, one free of my Father and His plans for me." He explains, glancing at her and away a few times uncertainly before he glances down at the sand and then looks out at the horizon, having been there long enough that his hair is starting to curl at the edges from the moisture in the wind coming off the water.

Listening quietly, Chloe puts her hand on Lucifer's arm gently in support. "Oh. I guess I kind of understand now." She sighs a little, but offers him a small smile as she looks up at his profile. "I have to admit, there's a small part of me that's curious what the difference is." She admits, shrugging a little. She can't see Lucifer being anything other than the man she has always known. She has seen him emotional and angry even, but he's never been cruel or cold, not like he seems to be implying that he was earlier. "But I can understand not wanting someone to look at you differently because of what you did. I imagine you had to do a lot of things you never would have dreamt about, to survive literal Hell." She muses, taking his hand in one of hers and rubbing her other hand over his bicep soothingly.

"Maybe it's selfish of me, but I hope you never find out the difference, Detective." Lucifer murmurs sadly as he looks over at her, before he takes a deep breath, his hand closing around hers as he nods. "You're correct, Detective. When I was cast into Hell... Everyone hated me, and I think I hated myself a bit as well. But I still spent eons trying to please my Father and become what He wanted me to be." He says thoughtfully, and maybe a little bitterly, slowly turning to look down at the blonde at his side. "I swore, when I came up to Earth, that I was through with that, that I was done being a torturer. Done playing a part in my Father's plans." He explains as he looks at her for a few moments. "And yet, all it takes is someone threatening your life for me to step back into those shoes."

Shaking her head a little, Chloe keeps her hand on Lucifer's arm even as he turns toward her. "I never asked you to do any of that, Lucifer. And I'm not going to let you blame me for it either." She says a little defensively as she looks at him. She has to admit he got results, but she doesn't like to think about what he might have done, or had Maze do, to achieve those results.

"No, no. I'm not blaming you, Detective." Lucifer reassures quickly as he looks at her. "And the fact is, you didn't /have/ to ask me." He explains, getting lost for a moment in her eyes. "Someone threatened your life." He states in a tight voice, as if that should be all the explanation she should need. Clearing his throat, he looks away from her for a moment to settle himself after thinking about how close he got to losing his detective. "And.. now that I think about it.. It's been the same from the beginning. The very idea of someone taking your life, of you leaving Earth, leaving me, because of the hands of another..." He trails off as he looks at Chloe, a little confused as he works this through in his head. "Quite frankly, it makes me rather angry. Since the very beginning you've been different. Your response to me, my response to you, my mortality. What is it that makes you so different, Detective? Out of all the humans, the women I have met.. Why you?" He asks, a little frustrated as he watches her, but also watching her with a certain amount of wonder. He lifts one hand and tucks some hair behind her ear gently, cupping her cheek tenderly.

Alright, then. Lucifer is willing to do some scary, questionable things just because her life is threatened. Chloe isn't sure how she should feel about that, but she's pretty sure the slightly fluttery feeling in her stomach is completely the wrong response. She moves her hand from his arm to rest it on his wrist, tilting her cheek lightly into his hand. "We've been over this, Lucifer. I don't have a clue why I'm different. My parents were boring, I have a boring life. My family isn't even religious." She explains with a small shrug as she looks at him. "Which reminds me. Sooner rather than later, we need to figure out the distance on the whole mortality thing. We need to know when you need to be careful and when you can go into a dangerous situation and not worry." She says seriously as she looks up at him. "And you know, you don't have to hide anything from me. Finding out the good and the bad, that's what a relationship is about. And I'm pretty sure learning my partner and future date is older than time, has been with more women than I could probably count, is the actual real Devil which means you're also technically an Angel, is setting the bar pretty high for 'bad', or at least 'weird' things that could happen in a relationship. And oh yeah, your family is literally the most dysfunction one in the universe." She points out as she looks at him. "Pretty sure nothing else I can find out about you can top any of that." She smiles, taking his hand away from her face gently and smiling a little up at him. "Even if I do get to see the devil inside." She adds as she pokes the middle of his chest with her index finger, smiling a little.

Lucifer smiles softly and nods, laughing lightly. "Yes, I suppose so." He agrees as he releases her hands, shifting a little to start to put his jacket back on. "Well. We should return to the station. There is still the person who hired the arsonist to catch. They are capable of hiring someone else, or making an attempt themselves." He points out as he looks at Chloe in concern, that probably being the most driving force for him at the moment. There is still someone out there who could threaten Chloe's life.

It's avoidance, but Chloe figures that Lucifer can get away with it this time. And he's definitely right about catching the person who is after her. She wants Trixie to be safe. "Yeah, you're right. I should have a report by now of what they were able to find out from the arsonist. I'm not allowed in on the interrogation, but the Lieutenant told me she would give me copies of everything. I think she knows she won't be able to keep me off this case." She says with a little smirk as she turns to walk back toward the parking lot, assuming that Lucifer will follow.

And follow he does, but not before admiring Chloe's backside for a moment. It's quite an excellent backside, and Maze's choice of pants is excellent. He tugs on his cuffs to get them back into place once he has his jacket on before turning his attention back to his Detective. "Wise woman, the Lieutenant." He says with a bit of amusement. "But you don't need a report, I can tell you everything they're going to find out from the man." He says thoughtfully as he looks around for a few moments. "Unfortunately he doesn't have a great deal of information, but there are a few details he didn't think about. Not sure what they all mean yet, but that's more your area of expertise." He says with a smile over at his Detective.

"Should I be glad you feel you need me around at all?" Chloe asks with amusement as she looks over at Lucifer for a moment as they finally get back onto the pavement not far from Lucifer's car.

Turning to look at Chloe with a slightly surprised, concerned expression, Lucifer reaches out to touch Chloe's arm with his fingertips. "Detective. I /always/ need you around. Besides being fascinating in general, I started working with you because I found what you do so very interesting, but you've always been excellent at your job. I've never made the same leaps of logic that you do. I have no desire to do this sort of thing without you." He says in a firm, more serious tone as he looks down at her.

Looking up at Lucifer, Chloe smiles and puts her hand on his arm as she nods. "I know, Lucifer. That's why we make a good team. Because you see things in ways that I never think to, either." She reassures with a small smile. "By the way.. I might as well do this here. I ordered this before the fire.. With everything going on, I almost forgot. Hold on." She goes over to her car and pulls out two wrapped presents from the back of her car, one small and one larger box. "This seems a little ridiculous now, because I'm pretty sure that your birthday party wasn't real, but.." She holds out the presents to him. "Happy birthday anyway."

More than a little surprised she remembered something he had almost forgotten, Lucifer tentatively reaches out and takes the presents from her. "It's been almost a year, hasn't it. That wasn't my birthday, no, I don't actually have one. It was a bit of a re-birthday. Right after I burned my wings." He says slowly in a distracted way as he looks at the boxes. "Thank you, Detective." He's more touched than he expected that she would remember, briefly remembering the party he threw. "Not going to make me drink that awful concoction again, are you?" he jokes with a little smirk.

"No, I haven't hidden any pickle juice anywhere." Chloe reassures, laughing a little and then grinning as she looks at him. "Come on.. open them. It's really hard to figure out what to get a man who instantly buys anything he desires." She says with a little grin.

Leaning back against his car a little, Lucifer looks down at the presents, considering. Putting the smaller on aside for the moment he turns the other around in his hands until he finds the seam and then tears the paper off slowly. He can't help but chuckle a little as he sees what it is, grinning at Chloe. "The complete Penelope Decker DVD collection?" He asks in surprise as he looks down at the box of DVD's.

"Yeah well.. I remembered how excited you were to meet my mom and how easily you recognized who she was, so.." Chloe trails off and shrugs a little with a smile. "I could get her to sign them for you if you want." She halfway teases with a grin as she watches him.

Lucifer smirks a little at his Detective, before he puts the box in the passenger's seat of his car and picks up the smaller one. "I appreciate the offer, Detective, but it's rally not necessary." He shakes his head slightly before he starts to unwrap the smaller box, looking at it questioningly since it reminds him of a somewhat flat jewelry box. Opening the box slowly to look inside, he blinks a few times as he sees the gold pair of cufflinks, the circular tops having a black background with a red L on each of them in a somewhat Gothic font. It might not be as fancy as something he might normally buy for himself, but it's very nice and very unexpected. "Detective.." he says slowly as he looks at it, taking a deep breath, surprised and confused as to how to respond. "Thank you.." He finally says before he smiles a little. "Red, my favorite color." He says quietly as he continues to examine them, turning the box back and forth slowly.

"Yeah, I noticed." Chloe says with a proud smile, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking up onto her toes briefly. "They're for Lucifer, of course, but Lux, too. I thought about getting ones with LM on them, but they looked kind of weird, and after that preacher's death, I didn't think M would really be appropriate." She explains, unnecessarily perhaps, but she's nervous about whether or not he likes them.

"Thank you, Detective. I'll wear them with pride." Lucifer smiles as he closes the box slowly and slips it into the inner pocket of his jacket. It's the best present he's ever got, if he's honest with himself. Not that he's received a lot of presents in his lifetime. Once again trying to avoid unfamiliar feelings, he looks anywhere but at Chloe for a moment. "Well, shall we head back to the station?" He asks, finally meeting Chloe's eyes again.

Nodding a little, Chloe leans up and places a brief peck on his lips, steadying herself with a hand on his arm. "Yeah. I'll meet you there." She offers, smiling before she heads back to her car, and feeling much better about the day than she did a few hours ago.

Lucifer watches her go quietly, shaking his head and putting the DVD's and the trash into his trunk to be dealt with later before he heads back to the station as well, which gives him time to clear his head and then mentally go over what the arsonist said this morning so he can faithfully relay it to his Detective.


	14. Chapter 14

**Season 5! Whoo! But it's the last. :'( I have such mixed feelings about this. **

**Thank you to everyone who is still reading, it seems like more and more every week which is fantastic! This is turning out to be WAY longer than I expected, and I feel like there is still so much to go. Thank you for all your lovely support, I might have ended this long ago if not. I do have a quick question though. Without giving anything away about my ending, (though I've changed it at least three times now) would you guys be interested in a Part 2? Where they get back to doing the cases in the show and I explore a bit more how things might change and how Chloe and Lucifer navigate it. Drop me a PM or Comment, or I'm going to try something different and see if I can put in a link to a Google Poll, which will be at the very end.**

**Thank you to everyone who is still reading and reviewing. As always, let me know what you think, and thanks!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (and encouraged)!**

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"Okay. So. Tell me what you found out." Chloe says after they both get back to the precinct, her sitting at her desk and Lucifer sitting in the chair just beside it. She's back to business, wanting and needing to know who might have wanted her dead.

Lucifer adjusts his jacket before he nods a little. "Right. As I said, he was just hired for the job. He said the person who hired him was very specific. The target was only you. He apparently was aiming for the gas line. He thought it was in the wall because that's what's normal, but yours was under the house since it went to the island in the kitchen. Good thing they got it shut off before the fire spread too far, come to think of it. Obviously our arsonist isn't very clever. And his employer wasn't as specific as he thought." He explains as he looks at her. "He said the money wasn't great, but his employer had some sort of leverage on him as well, some information they would give to the police if he didn't play ball, as it were." Leaning forward on the edge of her desk slowly so he can keep his voice soft to discourage eavesdroppers, he watches Chloe as he continues. "It seems to me that would indicate someone with a fair bit of power, don't you?" He asks, arching an eyebrow with a slight tilt of his head.

"Could be, or.." Chloe looks around a little, keeping her tone low as well as she leans forward on her desk toward him. "Could be a cop. Some backlash from the whole Malcolm thing. As much as I hate to say it, there's always going to be one crooked cop around. I haven't exactly made a lot of friends around here." She points out as she looks at her partner with a little sigh, pushing her hair back from her face.

"If it's one of your coworkers, I certainly hope Maze finds them first." Lucifer replies in a cold tone as he looks at the woman in front of him, one hand briefly balling into a fist. "It would be much less messy that way." He observes, looking around the precinct for a moment, assessing the people around. "I'm sorry, Detective. Your instincts are usually spot on, but I just can't see anyone here going quite that far, in such a sneaky way. Wouldn't they go about it a little more straight on and just try and shoot you?" He asks curiously as he looks at Chloe.

Nodding slowly as she considers the possibility, Chloe sits back in her chair and thinks. "Yeah, I mean, that's always a possibility. Statistically, non-confrontational murders, or attempted murders, are perpetrated by women." She explains as she looks over at Lucifer, trying to remain somewhat detached and work through things logically. "There are less female cops than male in this precinct." She muses, looking around slowly before she leans forward toward her partner again. "Something we haven't considered... You and I have been working pretty closely together. Are any of your former lovers determined enough to do something like this? Or your mother? When she first... came around, or whatever, you seemed pretty worried about what she might do..." She points out as she looks at him, wondering if God's wife might have it out for her. Not thinking she is good enough for Lucifer or something, the ultimate overprotective parent.

That's something that Lucifer hadn't considered, but he shakes his head a little. "No. I don't think it's my mum." He decides solemnly as he watches Chloe. "She's still too new to Earth, she doesn't know how to navigate around. Granted.. Charlotte Richards' life does have the resources to find someone like our arsonist. I don't think she would care about whether or not she killed Beatrice though. One human is the same as another to her. And she's never cared for the lot of you." He tries to explain as he motions to Chloe as an examplar of humans as a whole. "However, she also doesn't see any of you as a threat. As I said, you lot are nothing to her. She wouldn't have the leverage our arsonist was talking about either."

Going from possibly wanting her dead to just not caring enough to want her dead, Chloe's not sure which she prefers. She considers the other possibilities before she nods. "Ok.. Um.. lets put a pin in that. We'll swing back to that whole thing later." She makes a circular motion with her hand and then continues. "What about lovers?" She asks as she looks at him.

"No, no. I have given women exactly what they want from me and it certainly isn't a relationship, Detective." Lucifer reassures in an amused and unconsciously suggestive tone as he looks at Chloe. "And besides taking up some of my time, you wouldn't have been a threat to any of that until /after/ the fire." He reminds his Detective, shaking his head a little. Obviously not having realized his feelings before that, even if it was a little more obvious to everyone else around him. Except the Detctive of course, who was equally as oblivious. "And I assure you, I haven't neglected anyone in particular, in favor of working with you. I may have cut back slightly since we started working together, but it's not as if I've been celibate." He reminds her, for once not intending to brag or anything, his comments more a statement of fact than trying to impress her in any way, or conversely, make her jealous in any way.

Rolling her eyes a little Chloe sighs and nods. "Right. Ok.. So it really is personal to me. Too bad, going after me because of jealousy or something makes a hell of a lot more sense and would give us a place to start." She says in almost a disappointed tone, shaking her head a little.

"Oh, I forgot. Our arsonist also said that he only met his employer once. They were using a voice modulator apparently, dressed all in black, dark alley sort of deal, face mask and everything. Whoever they are, they did not want to be identified. But he did say they weren't too broad and taller than him, but he couldn't tell exactly because of the dark and the person hunching over." Lucifer says as he watches Chloe. "Besides that one meeting, he said they communicated solely through burner phones." He adds before thinking back to his interrogation of the man to make sure that he didn't miss anything.

"Ok, well that's something to go on." Chloe says with a small nod. "Rules out at least half the guys who work here. They're either too short or too broad." She says with a small nod as she looks at Lucifer with a slight smile. "Burner phones don't help, I'm sure both of them have been tossed by now." Sitting back a little, Chloe runs a hand over her hair and through her ponytail as she thinks, rocking ever so slightly in her chair.

Before either of them can think of anything more, Chloe's phone buzzes and she takes it out to look down at the text she just received. "Finally." She says in relief. "Looks like they got some extra information out of the arsonist that you and Maze missed, Lucifer." She explains as she looks up at him with a slight smirk. "We have a lead, and address that whoever hired him is most likely squatting in. C'mon, if we leave now we can meet backup there." She gets up quickly and tugs on Lucifer's sleeve to get him to move as she passes by him and begins to walk swiftly toward the parking lot.

Opening his mouth to make some comment, Lucifer shuts it again as Chloe gets her text. "I very much doubt there is anything that man told your officers that he did not tell us." He says warily before getting up to follow. Something about this feels off, but if there's a chance that they can catch the person behind this, then he is all for it. He wants his partner to get her closure and for her to be safe again.

The drive is short and Lucifer's unease increases as he sees the house and the utter lack of police around. "Detective.." He says slowly. "Perhaps I had better go in first. Just in case. Even mortal, I'm much more resilient than you are." He says in a concerned tone as he looks over at Chloe.

Rolling her eyes a little at her partner's dramatics, Chloe sighs a little as she gets out of the car. "I'm not letting you go in alone, Lucifer. Backup will be here in a few minutes, I'm sure, but lets scope it out anyway, it may just be a waste of time." She sounds a little exasperated because she is fairly convinced this is a dead end. Still, her hand remains on her hip over her gun as she heads toward the door, peeking in the windows before she steps inside slowly. Maybe she's being a little more reckless than she usually is, but this is someone who threatened her and her daughter.

Lucifer follows closely because he's not going to let his Detective go in by herself and put herself in danger, looking around the spectacularly creepy abandoned house. Incredibly cliché perhaps, but there is a reason those cliche's exist. An abandoned house is usually a good place to lay low. It's an older house, that much is obvious from what architecture is left, but it needs some serious TLC. It appears as if there was some reconstruction at some point, but it has since stopped and the house seems to have been stripped of anything profitable. Floors creaking, it's almost impossible for either of them to sneak around, but they move slowly all the same, being careful of where they step because who knows how sturdy the floor is. "Well this is spectacularly creepy." Lucifer says in a quiet tone as he looks around. "But I very much doubt any bad guys can sneak up on us in here." He says as he looks around for a few moments.

Of course that's true, so when there is a creak of floorboards behind them and the clicking of metal against metal as a gun safety is turned off, and both Lucifer and Chloe turn almost in unison toward the sound. Already having drawn her gun before proceeding through the building, Chloe keeps it aimed at the ground as she turns, not knowing if it's friend or foe behind them and really not wanting to get shot again in either case.

Chloe almost relaxes when she sees the woman in an officer's uniform except for the fact that the woman has a gun pointed at them both. "Officer Iona." She says as she looks at the woman, "What are you doing?" She asks cautiously.

"Five foot eight, sleight build. Police knowledge." Lucifer mumbles under his breath, looking a little confused before it dawns on him. "Hang on. I know you. You were that lovely desk sergeant that let me see that dung beetle paparazzi..." He smiles, a bit pleased with himself as he thinks about that event before he turns a little toward Chloe. "Our second case together, Detective, do you remember?" He asks with a little smirk.

The officer seems to light up slightly when Lucifer remembers her, but then she frowns when he turns away to look at Chloe. "How can you remember? It's been a year. You said you'd call. And then you never did. I got into so much trouble for letting you into interrogation, and then I couldn't stop thinking about you, I even went to Lux a few times, but you were always gone, or you were looking at some other girl." She glares at Chloe pointedly as she waves her gun around a little in her anger. "My husband divorced me because of you!" She nearly shrieks, before she looks at Chloe again, swinging her gun to point it at the other woman. "All because of you. You brought him in. You distracted him. You always distract him. He's always looking at you."

"You know when I said jealousy was a good motive? I take it back." Chloe mutters as she looks over at Lucifer. "Did you really promise to call her?" She asks through gritted teeth as she glances sideways at her partner again, wondering if his antics might have really caused this.

Very confused now, Lucifer looks at the officer in front of him. "I absolutely did not. I think this woman suffered some sort of psychotic break. All I did was ask to get in to see the dung beetle." He reassures, a little defensively, slightly offended his Detective might think so little of him. But seeing as how the girl seems to be sweet on him and murderous toward the Detective, he takes a quick sidestep with his hands up, so that he's between the officer and Chloe. "Now, now. I'm the one you want, not the Detective, isn't that right? It was my choice to become involved in her cases, she didn't want me there, from the beginning. I manipulated my way onto her cases, because she vexed me." He points out as he looks at the officer, trying to figure out if he ever did see her in Lux, but he can't honestly remember.

"Lucifer. What are you doing?" Chloe hisses at him as she shifts her hold on her gun and looks at his back, pretty much entirely hidden from view because of the height difference between them. Which means not only can she not get a shot off, she can't see what's going on.

"No! No, it's her fault. I wouldn't have even met you if it weren't for her. She distracted you. She's been leading you on. We can see it, why can't you see it? Why don't you see what she's doing?" Officer Iona demands, gun pointing at Lucifer now, and she thrusts it toward him a few times as if to make her point. "She's using you, Lucifer! She doesn't deserve you!" She shouts as she continues to point her gun at Lucifer. "Get out of the way! Let me do this. Let me do this for you. Let me free you!" She nearly begs as she looks at him, eyes wide and wild, her uniform being slightly wrinkled and askew.

Utterly baffled by the way this woman is reacting, Lucifer shakes his head. This is more like how some humans react to seeing an actual Angel, wings and all. He would have thought she saw him that way with how she's behaving so fanatical. "Stay behind me, Detective." He says to Chloe without taking his eyes off the woman in front of him. "As I said, I'm much more resilient than you." He reassures, lowing his hands slightly. "Think of your child, Detective." He adds firmly as he feels Chloe shifting behind him.

"Lucifer." Chloe grinds her teeth for a moment as she glares at his back. "I can't let you just get shot. You're vulnerable around me, remember? You could be killed." She points out, wishing she could see what's happening in front of her, but she knows better than to peek out and distract Iona,

Glancing back at Chloe for a moment, Lucifer smiles sadly. "Don't worry, Detective. If I die, I just go back to Hell." He says as he lowers his hands a little more, before he turns his attention back to the problem in front of them. "If you die..." He trails off for a moment, frowning as he glares a little at Officer Iona. "I would burn the world for you, Detective." He says before he takes a step forward.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Officer Iona yells at them with a wave of her gun. "Move out of the way, Lucifer! Why won't you let me help you?!" Officer Iona yells at him, waving around her gun and taking a slight step backward when he takes a step forward. "Don't come any closer!" She shouts, bringing up her free hand to brace it on the gun unsteadily.

Having realized while Lucifer was talking that yes, she is hidden from view, and so pulling out her phone to text for backup, she becomes a little caught off-guard by his words, "Lucifer.." She says softly, before she decides to go with it, because she knows that Lucifer won't give up and maybe he's just buying time. "That's not what I would want, Lucifer. I think you know that." She says gently as she looks at him, tilting her head a little to be able to see his profile.

"If you died, right now, Detective." Lucifer pauses and shakes his head slowly. "Chloe." He corrects himself in a gentler tone, taking a slight step toward the officer in front of him again, putting more distance between him and Choe. "Imagine my reaction to losing Father Frank, and multiply it a thousand fold. Then imagine that there will be no one there to talk me down. So you see, you cannot die. Not that I want to die. Speaking of.." He seems to turn his attention back to the woman in front of him. "Take a breath, Officer, and look at me." He says, locking eyes with her before he smiles, "That's right. There you go." He says in a soothing tone as he lowers his hands the rest of the way, taking a small step forward. "You don't want to shoot me. Why don't you tell me what you really desire?" He asks, dropping his tone to that seductive, hypnotizing tone he uses when he uses his mojo, lifting one hand slowly toward Iona's hands to try and get the gun from her.

Predictably, Officer Iona immediately calms down as she locks eyes with Lucifer, tension going out of her shoulders as she stares at him. "I.. I want you to notice me." She whines a little, before her resolve hardens and her eyes glaze over, becoming empty. "If I can't have you, neither can she." She says in a flat tone before firing two shots.

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**As promised, poll for the above question, just remove the spaces!**

** forms. gle / i7ApSU4voSqLkDjP6**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sooo.. that's a yes to a part 2, eh? Thanks so much for the responses! I'm really glad you want a second part, because I want to write it. Also it gives me a chance for things to maybe get a bit naughtier between the Devil and his Detective. ;)**

**I finished editing this story, and I am super proud of it, and really excited for you to read it. I'm probably going to be posting more than one chapter a week from now on because I just can't wait to see what you guys think of it! It will have a total of 20 chapters, and hopefully by the time we get to the end, I'll be able to post the first chapter of Part 2 the same day or the next day.**

**As always, thank you so much for your follows and reviews! You guys are amazing, and I love hearing what you think. Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter, let me know!**

**Reviews/comments welcome (and encouraged!)**

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"That was /so/ stupid of you, Lucifer." Chloe snaps at him to cover up the fear and worry that she's feeling. She reaches out to touch his arm where the EMT's cut away his shirt to tend to the wound on his arm from where one of the bullets grazed him. "You could have been seriously hurt."

Looking over at the gurney with Officer Iona handcuffed it, Lucifer smiles a little as he looks down at Chloe, "Luckily for me, you were there to pull me out of the way, Detective. Still. Better me than you. " He points out, lifting his jacket by the collar to drape it over his shoulder. "You are an excellent shot, Detective." He says as he looks over at their attacker who now has some bandages around her shoulder from where Chloe shot him.

"You are lucky." Chloe says before she shakes her head at him. "So.. how does this work.. if I go back to the station, and you go back to Lux, will you heal?" She asks as she lays her hand on his arm below the bandage.

Glancing over at his arm, Lucifer thinks fr a few moments and then nods. "Most likely, but lets not do anything drastic, Detective." He says playfully as he takes a few steps toward her car. "Brief stop for me to look presentable again should be good enough." He reassures as he looks at his Detective with a small smile. "Unfortunately, I don't think Officer Iona was the one who hired our arsonist." He muses as he starts to walk back toward Chloe's car with her.

"No, you're right. I checked on the text. It was called in by Officer Iona. The desk sergeant didn't know she was on medical leave. She must have a police scanner or something to have heard about the fire." Chloe explains as she turns to walk with Lucifer, taking a deep breath and trying to focus on that rather than what happened back in the house, or rather, what Lucifer said.

"Back to where we were a few hours ago, then." Lucifer glances around for a few moments as he thinks, since they had to stick around to make statements and his Detective insisted that the EMT's check him out.

"They're going to take Iona's badge, have her committed rather than imprisoning her. She was pretty fixated on you, though. You never talked to her beyond getting into the interrogation room, never saw her at Lux?" Chloe asks as she looks at the Devil at her side curiously, moving around her car to get in and wait for him to do the same.

Lucifer gets into the car before he shakes his head a little. "I assure you, Detective. That is the first and only time I spoke to her. Many people pass through Lux every night. It's possible she was in the club, I would have to review months of our security footage of the front door to be absolutely sure. But I never saw her there." He explains sincerely as he looks over at her, reaching over to place his hand over hers gently to make sure she understands.

Nodding a little as she hears the sincerity in his tone, knowing he would never lie to her. "Alright." She says quietly with a little nod. "I know you don't lie, but I had to ask." She explains with a small shrug before she starts up the car to drive back toward Lux so Lucifer can get changed.

"Understandable, Detective. You cannot help but be an investigator. Especially when doubt challenges your preconceptions." Lucifer points out with a small smile, withdrawing his hand so that she can drive. He stares out the window for a few moments afterward, elbow resting on the door, one finger rubbing beneath his lower lip in solemn thought.

"Ok, what gives, Lucifer?" Chloe asks when they're nearly to Lux and Lucifer still hasn't said anything. "You've never been this quiet. Ever." She pulls up to park before she turns to look at him curiously, reaching over and putting her hand on his forearm to give it a small squeeze. "Talk to me, Lucifer." She insists gently.

Looking down at the hand on his arm for a moment, Lucifer covers it with his own before lifting his eyes to gaze into Chloe's. "I've nearly lost you twice in the space of a week, Detective." He explains, considering it as he continues to watch the woman beside him. "I'm not used to.. caring.. a much as I do, about losing you." He lifts his hand from hers and brushes the backs of his fingers across her cheek gently. "I meant what I said, Detective. I would do anything to keep you safe." He says firmly, before he lowers his hand and turns to get out, needing to get out of the confined space.

Shivering lightly at the thought, Chloe stares after Lucifer for a moment before she gets out, letting his comment settle. And the implications of him saying 'anything'. She is fairly sure he means absolutely anything, which creates two different reactions. One is a bit of a primitive thrill, and the other is a knot in her stomach. She takes a few deep breaths as she follows Lucifer into Lux, catching up to him at the elevator. "Is caring about me so bad?" She asks as she looks up at him once the elevator is closed.

Adjusting his hold on his jacket, Lucifer looks over at Chloe for a few moments. "Two years ago, before we met, Detective, my life was simple. I did what wanted, when I wanted. And who I wanted, for that matter." He explains, turning toward her, taking one of her hands in his. "You've changed my world. Is it bad? No. It certainly makes things complicated, and a great deal more interesting." He can't help but grin a little and when the elevator doors open he leads her into the penthouse, tossing his ruined jacket to the couch before he turns back toward Chloe, tugging her close to him and laying her hand on the back of his neck. "And you know how I love my life to be interesting." He teases as he slides one arm around her waits to pull her against him. "I can't imagine ever giving this up." He moves his other hand to brush his fingers along her cheek before tucking her hair back and closing the distance between them to kiss her with slow tenderness, trying to express himself better through actions.

Sliding her hand up into Lucifer's hair, Chloe strokes her fingers through it as she returns the kiss the same, free hand sliding around his shoulders as she leans up into him. Allowing the kiss to last for a good minute or two, she finally pulls back from it and smiles as she looks at him, still playing with his hair and running her fingers through it. "You should go get changed. We still have someone plotting my death." She points out, smoothing out the damage she did to his hair before she steps back away from him. "Though I kind of like the Chippendale look." She smirk as she glances at his sleeveless arm for a moment.

"Isn't it about time for you to retrieve your child?" Lucifer asks, releasing his detective before starting to unbutton his shirt as he turns and heads up into his bedroom to change, though he chooses a new suit since he doesn't have another jacket to match his pants, and he would never wear a mismatched suit.

"Yeah, just about. I didn't realize how late it was. I'm sure you don't want to come with me. I can just go pick her up and come back." Chloe offers as she walks over to the steps to the bedroom in order to talk to him easier. "Oh, by the way, have you heard anything more from Maze?"

"No, not yet. I don't expect to until she's found her target. She's quite tenacious." Lucifer calls from his closet, coming out while doing up the last few of his buttons before he buttons his cuffs as well, laying his suit jacket on the bed. "You should retrieve Beatrice. I'm going to call in a few favors, see if anyone has heard anything." He decides as he looks over to where Chloe is standing.

Nodding a little for a few moments as she watches Lucifer, Chloe sighs. "Alright." She licks her lips for a moment. "Don't be gone too long, ok? Try to make it back for dinner. Trixie will be pretty disappointed if you're out too late." She points out, smiling a little as she steps back. "Text me if you find anything." She says before she walks over and into the elevator.

Surprisingly, disappointing the child actually doesn't sit well with Lucifer. Which freaks him out slightly, but he pushes aside those thoughts. "Of course, Detective." He reassures in a light tone, watching her until the elevator doors close.

Getting his jacket on and then getting himself a drink, Lucifer considers things before he makes a decision and heads for the door, going to visit Officer Iona to make sure there's nothing else she can tell them before he goes to visit some people who owe him favors to see if anyone knows anything, and spreading word that if anyone touches the Detective, they'll deal with him. He doesn't want her having to look over her shoulder worried about herself or her child.


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok. So I did feel bad, having the cliffhanger, and then the short chapter, and this was originally part of the last chapter but I wanted this story to be 20 chapters even. But mostly, I am posting this for Nerdygirl1995 who I've been talking to today and has been wheedling me to post another chapter. :D So here is a fun chapter to end your Friday off.**

**Have a good weekend everyone, and thanks for reading!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (and encouraged!)**

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By the time he makes it back to Lux, it's around 6pm, only the very determined starting to line up outside as the last preparations are made for the club to open in an hour. He nods a little to a few of his staff as he steps to the elevator to head upstairs. He can smell dinner before the doors even open, shaking his head a little as he realizes they must have ordered in some food. He's removed his jacket with a small wince before the door opens and he's able to step out into his penthouse. His eyebrows go up as he sees the scene before him, Chloe curled up on one side of the couch, some children's movie playing with Trixie sitting on the floor doing homework or some sort of coloring on his coffee table, the Chinese he smelled from the elevator sitting on the bar.

Both females look up when the doors open and Lucifer steps through, with similar reactions. Chloe smiles, seeming a little relieved and certainly pleased to see him, and of course Trixie scrambles to her feet with her usual cry of. "Lucifer!"

Having a little more warning this time of Trixie's approach, yet knowing he can do nothing to prevent it, he does the only thing he can think of. Instead of letting her attach herself to his legs, he crouches down and catches the girl as she instead throws her arms around his neck, while trying to maintain some distance between them. "Beatrice, you have no need to throw yourself at me every time I arrive." He says with some exasperation, awkwardly patting her back for a few moments. Of course, when she refuses to release his neck, and he realizes the Detective isn't going to be of any help, he sighs a little and puts one arm around her legs and then stands easily, the weight of Trixie nothing compared to his strength. "Alright, back to your mother." he says as he walks over to the couch, leaning down to set her down next to Chloe with the hope of being released.

Trixie giggles delightedly when she's picked up, and she continues to hold onto him snugly until she feels her butt put down on the couch. "But it's fun!" She says in response to his admonishment about attacking him every time she sees him. She does release him, flopping over against her mother with a little giggle. "He's funny, mommy." She says before she slides off the couch in order to grab one of her drawings. "Here! I made this for you." The drawing itself has three figures on it, her and her mom holding hands side by side, and then slightly off to the side is Lucifer, apparently, if the attempt at drawing a suit and little red horns are any indication. And then next to Lucifer is her attempt at drawing the building the penthouse is in, with the word 'Lux' over the bottom door.

Smiling a little at her daughter in amusement, Chloe looks up at Lucifer. "Welcome back." She says, then adds in a soft tone. "There's food if you're hungry." She points toward the bar, not able to help the soft fuzzy feeling she gets when she sees how he interacts with Trixie. He may act disgusted by her and he's definitely uncomfortable around her, but she can also tell that he cares for her, even if he might not realize it himself yet.

Looking down at the picture he was handed by the devious little child, Lucifer's eyebrows go up for a few moments. "Well. Yes. Thank you." He says in a slightly confused tone before he glances at Chloe and nods a little. "Right. Yes, I am a bit hungry, thank you, Detective. I think I'll eat on the balcony, just need a bit to m'self." He says awkwardly as he takes the picture with him over to the bar, laying his jacket over the bar before he gathers some of the food and a drink for himself.

"Do you think he liked it?" Trixie asks in a whisper toward her mother, finding it hard to figure Lucifer out sometimes, even if she does like him.

"Yeah, I think he really did, monkey. He's just not good at showing it." Chloe reassures before she gets up, trying not to push or make Lucifer feel trapped, but she walks over to the bar to stand beside him. "Is everything ok?" She asks in a concerned tone as she looks at his profile.

"Hm? Oh, yes. Just fine, Detective." Lucifer reassures as he looks at her. "I just need a little bit to myself. As much as I enjoy having you and young Beatrice here, it's just.. a little much tonight. I'll eat on the balcony and I'm sure afterward I will be right as rain." He reassures as he watches her. "After Beatrice goes to bed, I may need you to change my bandage. I'm not sure if there's even a wound anymore, but I would imagine there's something there." He explains in a softer tone as he glances over at her.

Proud of him for actually stating that he needs some space rather than just pushing her away, Chloe nods and smiles slightly as she looks at him. "Yeah. No, it's fine, Lucifer. I get it. We've been constantly together for the last few days. Take your time. And you know, if you want us to go back to Trixie's room or anything, that's fine, too." She reassures as she looks at him with a small nod.

After taking a sip of his scotch, Lucifer shakes his head a little. "That isn't necessary, Detective. A little time alone is all I need." He reassures, before he turns and heads with his food out to the balcony, turning one of his chairs so he can look out over the city before he sits down to eat his food, making sure the door is closed behind him.

"Is Lucifer ok?" Trixie asks after he's out of the room, looking up from where she was starting to put away her crayons and stuff like that.

Returning to her spot on the couch, Chloe nods and smiles. "Yeah, monkey. He's fine. He just needs some time away from everyone. You know how mommy gets sometimes after a long day, where I ask you to stay in your room for a few minutes, or I go upstairs and take a quick bath? That's kind of how Lucifer feels right now. He just needs a few minutes alone, and then he'll be ok to talk to us." She explains gently with a little smile, "Now watch your movie before it's over." She points toward the TV and then curls up in the corner of the couch with her own book.

By the time the movie is over, Lucifer is still sitting on the balcony, so Chloe just sighs a little, "Alright, monkey. I'm going to show you how Lucifer's shower works, and I want you to get washed up. You're going to love it." She reassures with a little smile, standing and going to get the toiletries she bought for her daughter.

After showing Trixie how to use the shower and having to endure her fawning over it for a few minutes, Chloe leaves her daughter to get cleaned up, and heads out toward the balcony just to check on Lucifer. She opens one of the doors slowly, smiling a little when her partner looks at her. "Hey." She says in a soft tone. "I'm getting Trixie ready for bed.. I'm sure she's going to want to say goodnight if you're up for it." She says in a soft tone as she watches him.

Admiring how Chloe looks standing there, backlit by the penthouse with her hair down and over one shoulder, Lucifer smiles softly and then nods slowly. "If I must." He finally says without much energy or effort behind the words, slowly standing up and picking up his plate and his now empty glass.

"Thanks, Lucifer." Chloe says sincerely as she watches him. "I know we've sort of invaded and you're used to having your own space -" She stops when Lucifer holds up his hand, and she bites her lip a little.

"You don't need to apologize, Detective. I invited you both here, and I told you before that you can stay as long as you like." Lucifer says firmly as he looks at her, and though his hands are full, he ducks his head and gives Chloe a soft kiss in an almost domestic moment. "True, I needed a bit of time alone today, but that does not mean I don't enjoy having you here. Both of you." As surprising as that is, the Devil wouldn't have said it if it weren't the truth. Even though it's only been a few days, he finds himself getting used to their presence, the slight chaos they have brought into his life. Slipping past Chloe, he glances around the penthouse as he heads toward the bar to start sorting through the boxes of Chinese and closing up the ones that need to be put in the fridge. Trixie's backpack lays by the couch, her papers still on the table, Chloe's book is on his couch, and her purse is sitting at the end of the bar. And he doesn't even want to think of the mess that has become his bathroom counter.

Watching after Lucifer as he walks, Chloe shakes her head a little and smiles softly. This is all sort of a surreal experience for her, and sometimes she wonders if she might be in some sort of dream, or maybe a coma or something. Sometimes that makes more sense than the reality of the situation. She walks back over to the couch to clean up Trixie's mess, wondering when her thoughts shifted so much that she didn't think twice about asking Lucifer to say goodnight to her daughter. It's become so normal. And then there's the strangeness of sleeping in Lucifer's bed without him trying to cop a feel, and without having had sex with him first. After she gets everything cleaned up and back in Trixie's room, she looks over at the now bare bar where Lucifer cleaned up dinner, without a word and without being asked. No wonder it's been so easy for her to.. Ok, fine. She'll admit it to herself, she might, just a little bit, be falling for Lucifer. He's been so open, honest, and quietly thoughtful. He's done more for her in three days than Dan did in almost ten years of marriage. And with half the fuss.

"Detective?" Lucifer asks in concern as he comes out from the kitchen to see Chloe sort of staring at the bar, a tear sliding down her cheek. Moving over to her, he gently brushes the tear away before he looks down into her eyes, not exactly sure what might have just happened, and he is not good with crying women, but tears are never a good thing. "What's the matter?" He asks with obvious concern as he searches Chloe's face for any possible hint of what's going on.

Blinking a few times to bring herself out of her little reverie, Chloe looks up at Lucifer and takes a deep breath. "I'm ok.. It's just.. I..." She tries to put her thoughts into words, and finally sort of gives up and shakes her head a little before stepping forward and hugging Lucifer with her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his chest. "Just.. thank you, Lucifer.." She murmurs as she hugs him.

While Lucifer has just about gotten used to holding or hugging Chloe, the sudden movement still catches him off-guard and for a moment he's caught with his hands out to the side in confusion, before he slowly places them around Chloe, enfolding her in his embrace and pulling her closer against him.. "Well, I'm not quite sure what I did, Detective, but you're quite welcome." He says softly to her, resting his head against hers for a few moments as he tries to offer her the comfort she obviously desires.

"Mmm. It's just.. everything, since the fire, Lucifer. You may see yourself a certain way, and you may have ruled over Hell, but you are more thoughtful and considerate than anyone else I know. It... It's the things you do when you're not thinking about it. Sometimes you just do things because to you, it's the only option, but I'm just.. I'm glad I met you, Lucifer. I'm glad that we became partners, and that.. we're becoming.. whatever this is." Chloe explains as she leans back from him and frees one arm from around him to motion between them.

Although still clearly baffled by what Chloe is saying, Lucifer smiles slightly as he watches her, releasing her so she can move back, his hands resting on her waist. He doesn't entirely understand what she's meaning because he has never been called thoughtful or considerate outside of a sexual situation which this clearly hasn't been.

Just as Lucifer is about to say something in reply though, Trixie comes out for the bathroom, dressed for bed and grinning. "That shower is so awesome!" She says excitedly, stopping at the bottom of the steps from the bedroom when she sees the two, Lucifer's hands on her mother's waist, and her mom's arms around him. And her mother looks very guilty, trying to discreetly release and move away from Lucifer. "If you two want to date, it's ok with me, you know. I'm not a baby, I can handle adult stuff." She says confidently as she looks between the two.

"Oh, Monkey, we.. we aren't.." Chloe motions between her and Lucifer but doesn't want to lie about their relationship. "We've never been on a date. But I do care about Lucifer very much, and... there may be a little adult stuff, like kissing or something. It's all really new, and I didn't want to tell you until I understood it myself." She explains as she walks over to her daughter and leans over to look her more squarely in the eye. "Are you sure you're ok with it, Monkey?" She asks in a concerned tone.

Trixie listens to her mother and after trying to hold it back during the whole talk, she grins broadly and nods. "Yeah. I think it's good. You're more fun with Lucifer around, and I like him, too." She reassures before she gives her mother a firm hug for a moment, before she releases her and walks over to where Lucifer is. "If you're going to date my mom, you have to do stuff I wanna do sometimes, too." She says matter-of-factly before she holds her arms up toward him. "And I want you to carry me to bed, that was fun earlier." She says with a broad grin.

Looking down at the child skeptically, Lucifer arches an eyebrow at her. "I'm not sure if that's entirely accurate, child." He says before he glances up at Chloe for some sort of confirmation but she seems to be no help, so he finally sighs in exasperation. "Very well." He acquiesces with a roll of his eyes, before he crouches down, careful to use his uninjured arm so she won't hurt it, even if it should be mostly healed by now. Putting an arm around her legs, he picks Trixie up and carries her toward her bedroom, leaning over to deposit her in a laying position. "Goodnight, child." He says after he's released, turning to see Chloe standing in the doorway with a fond smile on her face.

Making a quick exit, Lucifer leaves the room to let Chloe do whatever she needs to in order to make the little urchin go to sleep, and he collects a drink from the bar before he sits down on the couch, tilting his head back against it and closing his eyes, just taking a few moment to relax after taking a drink of his scotch balancing the glass lightly on his leg with one hand.

After Chloe finishes getting Trixie to sleep, she smiles a little as she comes out and sees Lucifer sitting there, tilting her head a little as she clasps her hands together in front of her. She's never seen him like this before, but, she reminds herself, she's very rarely seen Lucifer at home and so relaxed. The few times she's seen him at the penthouse, he's still 'on' as it were, and for a person with normally so much energy and a large presence to be so quiet and still is fascinating.

"Enjoying the view, Detective?" Lucifer asks quietly from the couch, having been able to sense her coming back into the room, that same tingling in his mind he's always gotten whenever the Detective is nearby.

"Maybe a little." Chloe says honestly as she walks further into the room on bare feet, settling down on the couch next to him. "You look a lot younger when you're like this." She explains with a small shrug. "When you're asleep, too. Are you ok?" She asks in concern as she looks at him, pulling her legs up under her on the couch.

"Yes, of course, Detective. Just savoring the moment." Lucifer reassures, opening his eyes and lifting his head to take a drink from his glass. "You know, you have a surprisingly soothing presence, have I ever told you that?" He asks, settling his head back against the couch, but this time turned toward Chloe to watch her.

"Really. Soothing, huh?" Chloe asks in a flat, disbelieving tone, and an amused expression, "I guess compared to your usual chaos it might be." She says with a little shake of her head. "I take it you didn't find out anything tonight?" She guesses from how he's acted most of the night, feeling that they can talk about it, now that Trixie is asleep.

Shaking his head a little, Lucifer turns his head to look down into the mostly empty glass. "Unfortunately not." He says in a somewhat flat tone. He does smile a little again as he looks over at Chloe, taking her in, with her loose hair, bare feet, and generally relaxed demeanor. "I'm glad you've made yourself so comfortable here, Detective, I never thought I would enjoy seeing you here quite this much." His tone is soft but playful and he sits up a little more to turn his body toward her, laying one arm along the back of the couch.

"It's actually not that hard to feel relaxed here.. And it's much cheaper than a hotel." Chloe teases a little as she looks at Lucifer with a smirk, considering everything for a few moments. "And, you know.. the company isn't too bad either." She points out as she looks down for a moment and then back up into his eyes.

Amused by the Detective's playfulness, Lucifer watches her, finishing his drink and putting his glass on the table before he sits back to look at her. "Not half bad, hm? Anything I can do to improve your opinion?" He asks with a sly grin, taking in her posture and general body language for a moment before his eyes return to hers.

For a moment Chloe seems to seriously consider the offer, pursing her lips slightly to try and hold back the smile as she tilts her head. "Well.. there might be one thing.." She instantly holds up her index finger to keep him from talking. "And it's something I'm pretty sure you've never done, but it's not sexual." She says with another little grin. "But, I think we should take a look at your arm first. Do you have a first aid kit?" She asks as she looks at him innocently.

"Color me intrigued, Detective." Lucifer says before he sits up a little. "There are so very few things I haven't done, I'm curious to find out what your idea is." He is a little disappointed by her change I subject, but she still has his attention. "Mmm. Yes, beneath the sink in the bathroom." He says as he gets up and starts to walk in that direction, figuring it might be better change it in there where there is water and trash cans readily available. Not to mention it will startled Beatrice less if she happens to wake up needing something.

Highly amused by Lucifer's reaction, Chloe follows him into the bathroom, waiting for him to get out the first aid kit, which actually looks like it's been used once or twice. And that brings up all sorts of questions, but she has a feeling she doesn't want to know the answer. Turning to look at Lucifer, she reaches out to hook her finger between the buttons on his shirt, giving it a tug. "You'll need to take this off." She points out, which is sort of obvious, but it's fun to point it out.

"Not so much concerned for my arm, as trying to get me out of my shirt, eh, Detective?" Lucifer asks playfully but he undoes his cuffs before starting to unbutton his shirt, pulling it out from his trousers. He watches Chloe carefully as he casually undoes his shirt and removes it, not rushing and certainly not shy about it. Once it's off, he tosses it into a hamper nearby and then turns back to Chloe.

"You know that's not true, Lucifer." Chloe scolds, then tilts her head as she watches him undress. "Getting you out of your shirt is just a bonus." She says playfully as she watches him, looking over at the first aid kit and pulling out some antibiotic cream and some gauze before she reaches up to start removing his old bandage. She's surprised though when she gets it off and looks at what was a pretty good wound earlier, even if it was a graze, and now it looks like there's been week or more of healing. "Lucifer..." She says quietly as she wets down a nearby wash cloth and gently cleans up some of the dried blood from his arm. "It's almost healed..." She points out in awe as she looks at it. "And this is just from the few hours you and I were apart?" She asks as she looks up at him finally.

Once more a little confused by the reaction, Lucifer nods as he looks down at his arm. "Yes." He says simply as he watches her with a soft expression. "Another few hours and it would probably be healed completely. There won't even be a scar." He explains gently as he watches her, then adds. "When you shot me, it didn't leave a physical scar either." He points out, not sure if she's ever looked at his leg, the few times he might have been in a state of undress around her in the last few days.

"You knew you could get hurt.. could get killed, by being around me, being on all those cases with me.." Chloe says softly as she looks back down at his arm, examining the scabbed over cut for a few moments before she shakes her head. "And you still followed me around, you insisted.. You've taken so many stupid risks.." She says quietly as she thinks about it, taking a deep breath as she looks up at him again. "Why?"

"For you, Detective." Lucifer explains gently as he watches Chloe. "I didn't become your partner to help put away bad guys. Though that was an unexpected benefit, punishing those that deserved it, on my own terms." He pauses for a moment as he watches her eyes. "I did it to be close to you. Because you fascinate me. Because you are completely immune to my usual allure. Because I'm vulnerable around you." He explains softly as he watches her. "And then.. I learned more about you as a person, Detective. I found a new purpose with you. I enjoy being your partner." He concludes in a soft tone as he watches her. "I took risks to keep you safe. I told you this afternoon, Detective. Better I get injured than you. I will always try and keep you safe." He reassures gently as he continues to watch her seriously, with a soft, almost loving expression on his face.

Chloe catches her breath a little as she listens to Lucifer's heartfelt words, and she bites her lip a little as she watches him. "You idiot." She mutters as she reaches up and rests her hand along his jaw gently. "I don't want to lose you either." She leans up to kiss him again, maybe a little freaked out by the idea of losing him just when they've started to really connect.

And maybe all this talk about getting hurt, death, losing one another, has affected Lucifer as well. He responds to the kiss a little more passionately than Chloe was probably expecting or intending. Grasping the Detective's hips, he turns them both and then lifts her up onto the counter, pulling her legs to either side of him so he can press closer against her, the angle a little easier for both of them with her on the counter. While the kiss may be a little more passionate, Lucifer's hands remain firmly in safe zones, one resting between her shoulderblades, the other around her waist to hold her against him.

Gasping a little at the movement which only provides access for her for Chloe to find out just how talented Lucifer's tongue is, she clings to him a little, lost in the kiss for a few minutes at the very least, though it certainly could be longer. She finally pulls herself away from it, leaning back against the mirror even though it puts her at a bit of an awkward angle, and she takes a few deep breaths. "Wow." She says quietly, her hands resting on Lucifer's arms.

A small groan is pulled from Lucifer as the kiss ends, and he licks his lips slowly as he watches Chloe with a hooded gaze. "My, my, Detective. It's a pity your child is just down the hall.." He says quietly as he looks her over, leaning closer to her and giving her a soft, fairly chaste kiss. "Seeing as my arm doesn't need another bandage, clearly, how about you tell me what fascinating little idea you came up with earlier, hm?" He asks as he looks into her eyes.

It takes a moment for her to think back to what she said earlier and remember exactly what it is she said, but then Chloe smiles a little and she nods as she remembers. "I think you'll like it.. and you're already halfway there." She motions with one finger to his current state of undress, then holds up her hand to keep him from saying anything suggestive. "You should change into those pajama pants you had on last night, or something like that. The point is to be comfortable, since you'll be laying down. So I suppose if you have a t-shirt hiding somewhere, you can use that, too." She pushes him back a little, knowing that it's only because he allows it, before she slides off the counter and packs the first aid kit back up. Taking one last look at Lucifer's arm, squeezing the area gently just to make sure that it's not going to break open or something, Chloe looks up at him again. "I'll be on the couch when you're ready." She smirks at him before she walks out and into the livingroom, putting a blanket down on the chaise end of the couch where she plans to be sitting.

When Lucifer returns to the room, still shirtless and now in pajama pants and seeming just as comfortable as he was before, he smirks. "I wonder, Detective.. is this really about me being comfortable, or did you just want an excuse to enjoy the view?" He asks, spreading his arms out to the side a little to put himself on display for her viewing pleasure.

Looking over from where she was retrieving the TV remote, Chloe smirks a little and halfway shrugs. "Mostly about you being comfortable." She says before tilting her head to the side and looking up for a moment. "Though maybe just a little about enjoying the view." She adds as she looks back at him with an amused expression. "Two birds, one stone, you know?" She shrugs a little, not seeing a need to hide it because it's not like Lucifer is shy.

"Well.. Good on you, Detective, getting what you desire for once." Lucifer compliments as he comes closer, then thinks about it for a moment. "But I've got to wonder.. Wouldn't you rather be more comfortable as well? Surely Maze got you something more comfortable that isn't too risque." He teases as little as he looks her over, arching an eyebrow at her in challenge.

Looking down at her work clothes which are actually decently comfortable, but she considers her plan and nods slowly. "Fair point." She decides, "I'll see if I can find something without waking Trixie up." She agrees, handing him the remote as she starts to walk by him. "Pick a movie to watch." She walks down to Trixie's room, glad that her daughter is a decently heavy sleeper as she finds a soft t-shirt and pajama pants she can change into.

When she returns, Lucifer glances over and grins a he looks her over. "Well.. very college co-ed. I like it." He says as he looks her over, before he looks around for a moment. "Now, what is the next step in your devious little plan, Detective?" He asks with a bit of amusement, finding he quite enjoys not knowing what's going to happen, or what Chloe has planned. Normally people are fairly predictable to him, but with Chloe he never knows. And she said it would not be something sexual, which has him more interested.

Snickering a little at Lucifer's impatience, Chloe shakes her head as she walks over to the couch and settles herself in the chaise end of the couch, getting comfortable before she crooks her finger at him, "Come here, and sit down." She says as she pats the place next to her.

Still not having a clue what the end game is, Lucifer follows direction and sits down near Chloe, remote in one hand since he's selected a movie for them to watch, arching an eyebrow expectantly at her. When she pats her leg though, he just looks confused. "Detective, I can think of a great many things to do to and with your lap, but I am fairly sure none of which you intend. I suspect a fellow human might know what that motion means, but I have no idea what on earth it is you desire from me." He says in clear confusion, as he motions toward her lap and then looks up into her eyes for some sort of clue.

Trying not to laugh at Lucifer, Chloe smiles and motions him over. "Lay down with your head in my lap, Lucifer. That's what that means." She muses with some exasperation. "I told you, you probably wouldn't have done it before." She points out with some smugness.

"Touche, Detective. I can truly say I have never watched a movie with my head in a woman's lap." Lucifer agrees, scooting away from her a bit on the couch before he lays down. Clearly he is uncertain about this position though, until he settles down. "Hm. This is surprisingly comfortable." He muses, curling forward a little to rest his injured arm more comfortably. "Oh, right.. I hope you have no objections to this movie." He says as he starts the movie and then reaches up to place the remote on the arm of the couch within easy reach of Chloe.

Once again, it's incredibly difficult for Chloe not to laugh at Lucifer, both when he gets comfortable, and then when she sees what movie it is. "Pride and Prejudice?" She asks, with obvious amusement as she listens to the opening notes of the 2005 version of the movie with Kiera Knightley. While she waits for Lucifer to answer, she drops one hand to Lucifer's hair, beginning to card her fingers through it and occasionally scraping her nails down across his scalp.

"Yes. The music in is rather lovely, actually, and its a fairly good representation of the period. Besides, I quite liked Jane Austin. She was quite clever and witty, for a woman of that period. That woman knew how to flirt." Lucifer muses casually with a little chuckle as he remembers, making a pleased sound as she starts with his hair, "I am definitely seeing the advantages of this position now.." He mumbles softly, eyes half closing for a moment.

For a moment as she listens to and processes what Lucifer just said, Chloe's hand pauses in its ministrations. "You knew Jane Austen. Of course you did." She says with a small nod as she processes that, then continues to slide her hand through his hair slowly, running her fingers firmly down his neck and across his bare shoulder once before going back on the same path and back into his hair, smirking as she hears the suppressed groan he makes.

"I knew a great many people throughout history, Detective. Don't worry, I didn't actually sleep with Ms. Austen. Much as I might have wanted to, she was a bit too proper for that. That's one of the reasons I like this interpretation of the novel so much. They capture the very proper flirting that could actually be quite intense. The sexual tension between Darcy and Lizzie in the rain is almost palpable. And when Darcy helps Elizabeth into the carriage, bare-handed, well.. That's practically first base for that period. I understand the.. electricity.. that can be felt even through a simple touch like that." He explains quietly, turning his head a little toward her lap for a moment to encourage her lovely hand in his hair before he looks back up at the TV.

"Huh." Chloe looks down at Lucifer curiously as she listens to him. "It's none of my business if you did sleep with her, Lucifer. You've had more lovers than I can count, I'm sure, and you are literally as old as time." She points out as she slides her hand down onto his neck again, rubbing firmly in a sort of one-sided massage before she goes back to his hair. "Something I am really trying not to think about, because it's really difficult to get my head around." She murmurs, leaning back a little on the couch to look at the TV. "You know, I just can't peg you down, Lucifer." She says after a moment as she watches him, though she is slightly amused by the fact that he reminds her of a big cat right at the moment, with the way he occasionally moves his head to encourage her. She wonders if he even knows he's doing it.

"That sounds like a rather kinky metaphor, Detective." Lucifer purrs a little and he chuckles lightly for a moment, before he reluctantly rolls backwards a bit so he can look up at Chloe. "But you being you, I assume that's not what you meant. So how about you elaborate?" He asks, stretching slightly and pressing his head back into her legs before he relaxes again.

Pulling her hand out of the way so it doesn't get twisted under Lucifer's head, she lets it rest on his chest instead. "Well.. when we first met, I thought you were just some eccentric, arrogant womanizer. And then I found out you were filthy rich. And since then, I don't know, I've thought you were a lot of different things. But you became my friend, and my partner, and those two things have stayed steady, but you're really hard to figure out. I thought I had you pretty well figured out before, and then the fire happened, and... you've really opened up to me in the last few days. And not just about the Devil stuff, about everything." She explains as she looks down into his eyes as she moves her hand to stroke along his stubble gently. "You said earlier that you found me fascinating, trying to understand me, well, I think that goes both ways." She reassures as she watches him, brushing her thumb across his chin gently before she returns it to resting against his chest.

"Well, what is that saying.. don't judge a book by its cover, hm? I told you, I'm like an onion. I have layers." Lucifer chuckles a little as he watches her, reaching one hand up to rest his hand on her upper arm before sliding his hand down to rest over her hand gently. "It would be rather boring if we could figure one another out so easily, hm?" He smirks, lifting her hand from his chest to kiss the center of her palm, remaining on his back but he turns his head back toward the TV and releases her hand, resting his hands on his stomach.

"Yeah, I guess so. Still can't believe you quoted Shrek at me." Chloe shakes her head, but she goes back to sliding her hand through his hair the best she can, not having as much access as she did before, but she certainly enjoys the view better this way. "Have you ever regretted cutting off your wings?" She ask curiously in a soft tone as she watches him, having gotten a better look at his scars several times over the last few days.

Considering that question carefully, Lucifer finally nods, rubbing his cheek against Chloe's leg for a moment. "A few times, perhaps. They were a part of me, afterall, for a very long time. And they were somewhat useful, occasionally." He says thoughtfully, rubbing his cheek against her thigh again in an affectionate way. "It wasn't worth the cost, though." He explains with a slight shrug before he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment. "You know, if anyone saw me like this, my reputation would be shattered." He muses with small chuckle, though he doesn't move at all. In fact, he's rather enthralled with the feel of Chloe's leg under his cheek and her fingers through his hair. His Detective was right, he's had many sexual partners and when it comes to that realm, he has done pretty much everything under the sun. But things like this, simple affection, are completely foreign to him, and therefore quite novel and enjoyable.

"Oh yeah?" Chloe asks curiously as she looks down at him, shifting a little to use her free hand to stroke through Lucifer's hair, while the other brushes along his jaw and then down his neck to trace over his collarbones gently. Maybe this is somewhat to do with her own desires in a way, but to her it doesn't have to be either one or the other. She wants to touch him and he enjoys being touched, so it satisfies both of their desires. Nothing wrong with that.

"Well, yes.." Lucifer says with very slight nod, turning his head briefly to look up at her. "You've managed to tame the Devil. For a bit, anyway.." He smirks a little before turning his head back to watch the moving, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly when her talented fingers move across his collarbone. "Careful, Detective. I may very well become addicted to your presence. And you know how I enjoy indulging my desires." He says with a little smile, chuckling lightly before closing his eyes for a few moments as he enjoys the affection.

"Hmm. I don't believe that." Chloe denies with a little shake of her head. "I can't imagine you ever being truly tamed. You're more like a wild animal. Humans think they can tame wild animals, but really, I think they just allow it as long as it suits them. If you're tamed now, it's only because you want to be. But I've seen you flip that switch, going from the charming, incorrigible man I know, to someone more darker, more dangerous, and more unpredictable." She explains as she moves her hand down from his collarbones onto his chest, drawing small little designs. "As for getting addicted to me, I don't think you have to worry about that. As soon as we find the person who's after me, I'll find a place for me and Trixie, and then you can have your solitude back." She reassures with a bit of amusement, figuring that's what he really wants, especially after he hid out on the balcony for over an hour today, needing his own space.

Sometimes Lucifer's habit of living in the moment and not looking ahead can backfire on him, and this is one of those moments. He turns his head to look up at Chloe, seeming uncertain, maybe a touch hurt, but mostly confused. Not about her words, but about the feelings they illicit in him. Perhaps it's his selfish nature, but he never thought about the Detective moving away, maybe he was arrogant to think he might be able to convince her to stay. "Detective.." He says softly as he tries to put his thoughts in order. "What if you didn't have to look for a place to stay?" He asks tentatively as he looks at her. This could turn out rather badly but he wouldn't be himself if he didn't take risks. And besides, he tells himself, who wouldn't want to stay in such a lavish flat, with amazing views and him as constant company? The Detective did thank him for being considerate, she seems comfortable here, and the spawn seems to be quite content. He might need a little time to himself once in a while, but then so might his partner. There is more than enough space in the flat for that to happen. He might have to install a door between his bedroom and the main area though. Something to consider at least, depending on her answer.

Being forced to move her hand, Chloe instead moves it to the top of his head to stroke his hair back from his forehead slowly as she looks down into his dark eyes. "What do you mean?" She asks, too distracted to really think about what he's saying. Besides, with Lucifer sometimes you just never know.

"I meant what I said, that you could stay however long you liked." Lucifer tries to explain, though he's doing it a little vaguely. "Hear me out, Detective." He says as he shifts a little in order to look up at her a little more easily, without moving his head from her lap. "I've got more than enough room here for you and your offspring. You seem quite comfortable here, Beatrice likes it here, and she's already getting rather settled in her room, which we could paint, get her some new furniture if she'd prefer." He explains, taking a deep breath. "We're getting along rather well as we are, and I think we proved earlier there is definitely a spark between us." He can't help the small smirk as he thinks about their kiss in the bathroom earlier, and the many ways he'd like to explore that further. "And it would be convenient for work as well. You wouldn't have to constantly wait for me, or take detours if I had to return here or to your home for whatever reason." He adds, thinking the argument for Trixie and work might be more convincing than anything personal.

For a moment, Chloe stills as what he's suggesting sinks in, and she stares down at Lucifer for a few moments. "Lucifer.. are you.. asking me to move in with you?" She asks, confused because for one, it's such a mundane thing for him to do, and two, for someone who has always been so happy with his independence, it's a surprise that he would want that kind of commitment. Because it's not just her, it's Trixie that he would be taking on as well.

A bit amused, but still nervous about the response, Lucifer smirks a little as he looks up at his partner. "Technically, Detective, you're already living with me. I'm just talking about prolonging your stay." he explains, which sounds a little less serious and strange perhaps. He moves one hand up to gently cover where hers is resting on his chest.

"I don't know, Lucifer. It's been fine these last few days, but it's only been a few days. I don't think you understand what you're really asking. It's not always so easy. If we have a fight at work, we won't be able to get away from one another here. I mean, not really. Three days of having us here, and you're already feeling crowded." Chloe points out as she looks at him, resuming slow, gentle movements of her hand in his hair, more to settle herself than anything.

"I was not feeling crowded. I needed some time alone because of what happened this afternoon, my frustration over any lack of lead." Lucifer counters as he watches her. "As you so delight in telling me, living together or not, a relationship will never be perfect." Slowly, he sits up and turns on his side toward Chloe, bracing himself on the arm of the couch as he leans over her to look her more squarely in the eye. "Come on, Detective.. Take a chance, be impulsive. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you feel it isn't working out, you can always move out later on." He murmurs persuasively, using his free hand to brush Chloe's hair behind her shoulder gently, fingers lightly brushing her her neck. He watches what he does for a moment to make sure her hair doesn't get caught on anything before his eyes return to hers. "You're not going to find a decent place in a few days anyway, so you're looking at another week or two, at least, of staying here." He continues as he sees her hesitating. "Clearly, you won't find a better view." He adds playfully as he motions to himself.

Lucifer is very close, very warm, and very distracting. Add to that him being charming and having a rather convincing argument and Chloe rolls her eyes finally before she looks back at him. "How about we make a deal? You like making deals." She points out as she looks at him, considering her options and smiling a little.

"Mm. You know I do, Detective. I'm intrigued. So tell me, what are the terms of your deal?" Lucifer asks curiously as he watches her, looking her over for a moment before his eyes return to hers, not seeming in any hurry to move way from his position.

"I will stay here." Chloe holds up her finger to keep Lucifer from celebrating prematurely. "For a month." She continues as she watches him. "Consider it a trial run. I'll keep an eye out for any apartments, and after the month is up, we'll talk about it again. And this means going all in, Lucifer. Meaning, you're going to have to make some changes. Starting with making room for my clothes alongside yours, I can't keep running into Trixie's room when I need to change. And if you have any drugs around here, I want them gone, I won't risk Trixie getting into that accidentally. You'll have to put some sort of lock on the elevator, too. For Trixie. I need her to be safe here." She says firmly as she looks at him, trying to make him understand the changes he'll have to make. "And if you want to be in a committed relationship, it means turning down all the other women, too. Whether we're having sex or not. You may be into threesomes and foursomes and orgies, but I'm not." She says seriously as she looks into his eyes, making sure he understands exactly what she wants.

Even with the condition, Lucifer is still quite pleased, and he grins as he looks at her. "Lovely. You have a deal, Detective. I'll make room for your clothes tomorrow. Of course, it also means I might get a glimpse of your knickers." He teases as he watches her. "Sex or not, there is a chance I will see you naked if you're going to be properly living here." He reminds her, smiling a little as he watches her eyes. "I will make all the necessary arrangements in the morning, Detective. You have my word." He reassures as he watches her, "Shall we seal the deal with a kiss? It is traditional." He says playfully as he watches her.

"Like you need any excuse to kiss me." Chloe points out with a little smirk. "But I suppose I can indulge you this time." She says before she leans forward, putting he hands on either side of his face and giving him a sweet, chaste kiss.

Returning the kiss the same, Lucifer lets it linger for a moment, being the first to pull away this time. "One month, from today, then. You'll see. I think a door might be in order as well, to the bedroom, if the child is going to be running about." He says thoughtfully before he moves up and away from her, turning around so that he's sitting properly on the couch, running a hand through his hair and chuckling a little as he feels how messed up it is. "Well, it seems the movie is over, Detective. And you were right, I did quite enjoy that, and I have never done anything remotely like that." He looks over at her, before slowly getting up and offering his hands to her. "And now it's time for bed I think. It's getting late and you have to take Beatrice to school in the morning."

Eyebrows going up for a moment and a little surprised, Chloe nods and swings her feet onto the floor before she takes his hands to help her get up. She has to admit it is getting kind of late, she just didn't expect Lucifer to be the one to bring it up first. Then again, he's doing a lot of things she doesn't expect lately. "See, I'm right once in a while." She teases as she turns to grab the remote and turn the TV off before she moves past Lucifer toward the bedroom, stretching her arms above her head for a moment.

"Never doubted you for a moment, Detective." Lucifer reassures as he watches her go before he goes to turn off most of the lights, leaving the bar lights on which provides enough light for Trixie to find the bedroom if she has the need. "I'm afraid we're going to have slightly different sleeping arrangements tonight. My arm does still feel a bit bruised, so having you lying on it won't be the most comfortable." He points out as he starts to move around to the side of the bed farthest from the door.

A little disappointed because she does enjoy sleeping close to Lucifer, Chloe nods a little as she watches him, then gets into bed. "I can't really sleep facing the other way, so I guess we'll just have to sleep on our separate sides today." She smirks a little as she looks at him, settling down comfortably.

With a small smirk, Lucifer slips between the covers a well, turning on his side toward Chloe. "That's never been my problem, Detective. You're the one who crossed half a bed to cuddle." He points out with a small chuckle, before he rolls over onto his stomach, not bothering to pull the covers up all the way since he tends to run warm anyway. "Just don't hog all the covers." He smirks a little, face half hidden by the pillow that he folds his arms under.

"I only do that when I'm upset." Chloe objects before she reaches up to turn off the lights, glancing back at Lucifer for a moment "Goodnight, Lucifer." She says softly, admiring the way the light from the city plays over him before she turns her back to him to try and get comfortable.

"Goodnight, Detective." Lucifer mumbles, watching her and listening until her breathing evens out before he allows himself to relax, sighing and closing his eyes, not taking long before sleep pulls him under as well.


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks you to everyone who is still reading! Here's a little something for those requests that I've gotten, I finally figured out a place to slip it in since Lucifer is feeling pretty darn good about himself. And for those of you who are worried about too much fluff... Be careful what you wish for. :) Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (and encouraged!)**

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Chloe can tell that she's awake earlier than normal because her alarm hasn't gone off and it's not hard to tell why. She's overheating, feeling like there is a down blanket laying over her. She 's already half on her back so she rolls back the rest of the way to blindly try and push the blanket off of her. Except her hand comes into contact with something softer and a little more firm and unyielding than she was expecting. When her eyes open she gasps a little as she sees what her hand is on. Two large, white wings that... yep... extend from Lucifer's back. She looks over at her partner for a moment, staring at the spot where the wings join his back exactly where his scars were. For a moment she's afraid to move as she takes in the beauty of the wings. And of course it makes sense that she feels like she's under a down blanket because, well, wings are made of feathers and down. Reluctant to try and wake Lucifer when he seems so peaceful, she still stretches one arm over and shake his shoulder, leaving the other hand along the top of his wing. "Lucifer. Wake up." She says as she tries to wake him up.

Apparently deep in sleep and reluctant to wake up, Lucifer mutters something in a distinctly not-English language, the words indistinct, but the sound of it being smooth and musical. His wings twitch a little, nearly brushing both sides of the room, before he takes a deep breath as he starts to wake up, Chloe's repeated attempts to wake him apparently getting through. "What is it, Detective?" He mumbles, before turning his head into his pillow for a moment. "I was having a rather lovely dream.." He objects with a little bit of pout.

While a little surprised at whatever it is Lucifer was just muttering that doesn't deter Chloe, but she can't help but smile fondly and roll her eyes at how completely adorable Lucifer is being. He's always been the one awake first so she hasn't had the opportunity yet to see him when he first wakes up. "Well, I'm sorry.. but your wings are sort of suffocating me." She says bluntly as she gives his wing a little push.

"My what?" Lucifer asks, apparently a little more awake now as he opens his eyes and then frowns a little as he sees his wings. "What the bloody hell?" He asks, shifting slightly and his wings lift up, off of Chloe but also up completely on both sides, before he frowns a little. "This must be my Father's doing.." He says darkly as he pushes himself up carefully until he's sitting back on his knees, wings still extended to either side since he doesn't have the room to fold them back properly.

Chloe shivers a little at the sudden cold and she stares for a few moments as she's able to see them both. "They're beautiful.." She says as she sits up and onto her knees before scooting a little closer to him. "Can I?" She asks as she holds out one hand toward one of them.

Distracted from his simmering hatred by the only person who ever can, Lucifer looks over at Chloe and blinks a few times. "What?" He asks, then nods a little. "Oh, yes. If you like." He reassures quietly, keeping his wings still and relaxing a little now that he has his Detective to focus on, instead of where exactly his wings came from. Plus, she seems to like them, and of course that makes him think twice about getting Maze to cut them off again. The only person who has ever been able to make him feel better about himself has bee his Detective.

Hesitating for a moment, Chloe shuffles forward on her knees a little more, and she reaches press her hand flat against the soft feathers. She takes a deep breath in awe as she looks at them, though it's not in a fanatical way like the auctioneer. More like someone who is seeing a master painting for the first time, or a breathtaking mountaintop view. "I don't know what I expected, but.. they're so soft..." She says in surprise as she strokes her hand down the features slowly, pressing her fingers into the dense weave.

A little surprised by how nice that feels, Lucifer closes his eyes for a few moments as he takes a deep breath, his wing twitching under Chloe's hand. "Yes. Well, they aren't much different than a bird's wing I suppose. Except far more flexible." He warns as he looks over at her.

"Sorry.. is this weird?" Chloe asks as she sees his reaction, pulling her hand back as she looks over at him uncertainly. She doesn't want to make him uncomfortable afterall. "Unlike a bird's wings... I guess yours weren't made just for flying, huh?" She asks as she thinks about the differences, and finds amusement in the fact that their wings were probably made before any bird's were.

"It's fine, Detective. Feels rather nice, actually. I can't remember the last time I allowed someone to touch my wings." Lucifer explains as he looks over at his Detective for a moment, a briefly vulnerable expression fluttering across his face. "You are correct, for most of us, our wings were made to be almost another limb, allowing for fighting as well." He watches her curiously for a few moments, relaxing a little more as he rests his hands on his legs. "So they had to be more flexible." He explains before he smiles a little and lifts his wings slightly before he starts to curl them inward around them a little.

Moving backwards a little and closer to Lucifer as he brings his wings in, Chloe can't help but grin as she looks at them. "Definitely more flexible." She agrees as she reaches out to smooth her hand over his feathers slowly again. Curious, she lifts her hand to rest it along the top of his wing, slowly sliding her hand outward along the feathers covering the bone.

Closing his eyes a little again at the sensation which feels like a rather lovely caress, and far more sexual than it has any right to be, Lucifer finally reaches up and grasps Chloe's wrist gently. "That's quite enough, Detective." He says with a soft smile, placing a kiss on the back of her hand before withdrawing his wings and pulling them more tightly to his back as he starts to get off the bed.

"Oh. Ok. Sorry. I got a little carried away I guess. I didn't hurt you, did I?" Chloe asks, not knowing how sensitive or not his wings are, though she does find it slightly amusing the way he seems a little grumpy. "Wait.. if you have wings again.. you can't just go walking around with wings, Lucifer. And you're not the type to be wearing heavy trench coats all the time, what are we going to do?" She asks in concern as she looks at him.

Chuckling a little as he stands up, Lucifer shakes his head for a moment. "It didn't hurt, Detective. Even with you around, my wings are quite sturdy, I assure you." He says before he glances at them. "You never saw Amenadiel's wings, eh? Hiding them is the easy part." He says, shifting before he gives a little shrug and his wings fold into his back, disappearing completely. "See? Not a problem." He says as he turns around slowly, almost exactly like when she saw his scars for the first time.

Carefully freeing herself from the covers and getting up, Chloe moves closer to Lucifer. "Your scars are gone.." She says softly as she turns him in a moment of deja vou, and reaches out to smooth her hand over his back where the scars were, though this time Lucifer doesn't stop her from touching him, allowing her to make sure for herself that the scars are gone and it's not just an illusion.

"Well yes, they would be. Since my bloody wings are made new." Lucifer grumbles a little, glancing upward for a moment. "I'm sure my Father is behind this, but why now? Why at all? He's usually a bit more dramatic than that." He admits as he looks around for a moment, letting Chloe inspect his back because lets face it, there has never been a time when he's not enjoyed Chloe touching him.

"Not to sound selfish or anything, Lucifer." Chloe says as she moves around in front of him to look at his face. "But I think we have bigger problems to focus on right now than why your wings are back. At least, they feel bigger to me, since it's me and Trixie who are in danger." She reminds him, stifling a yawn behind her hand before she looks around to see what time it is.

Nodding as he looks down at the blonde in front of him, Lucifer smiles a little. "Yes, of course. You're right, Detective." He nods toward her a little, before he sees her yawn. "Go back to bed. You've still a few hours." He offers as he continues to look at her, taking in her body language for a moment before he smirks a little. "If you're lucky, I might even make you breakfast in bed, eh?" He offers, just wanting an hour or so to think over the repercussions of getting his wings back, and what it might mean in the overall scheme of things.

"Yeah, ok.. Oh, before I forget.." Chloe walks back over to the side of the bed, pulling the blankets back up from their twisted state, before she sits down. "Do Angels have their own language?" She asks as she looks over at her partner. "When I tried to wake you up, you said something, but it definitely wasn't English or any language I've heard before." She shifts, swinging her legs up onto the bed and under the covers as she waits for an answer.

Tilting his head a little in confusion, Lucifer walks over to sit on the edge of the bed next to her. "Well of course they have their own language. They existed before humans or any of their languages." He scoffs as he looks at Chloe for a moment. "And I do know it, of course, I know all languages, but I haven't spoken it since I got cast out. The demons sort of came with their own language." He explains, clasping his hands together in his lap. "Do you remember anything from what I said?" He asks, very curious about what he might have said.

Shaking her head as she slides under the covers until she's laying down, Chloe curls on her side a little to look up at him. "No, I couldn't make out any of it. You were sort of muttering it into your pillow." She explains with a little smile. "It was strangely adorable. And that language was beautiful, like spoken music." She says quietly as she watches him. "But maybe it has something to do with your wings coming back." She offers, reaching over to rest her hand on his leg for a moment, smiling before she nestles down further into the bed.

Lucifer nods as he looks down at her. "Pity, I would have liked to know what I said. But I'm glad you liked it, Detective." He smiles before he takes her hand from his leg, squeezing it lightly before he places it on the bed as he gets up. "Go to sleep, darling." He urges gently, lingering for just a moment before he turns to go down the stairs and toward the kitchen to get himself something non-alcoholic to drink for once and check to see what he has to cook. Also to give Chloe a few minutes to fall asleep before he considers doing anything else.

When he's sure that she might be asleep, Lucifer returns to the livingroom to retrieve his cellphone, checking the messages briefly and dismissing most of them since they're from various women and he could care less about women right now. Except for one, of course. Chloe is always the exception to the rule. Looking down at his phone and through his contacts, Lucifer sighs as he makes a decision. As much as he hates to after the spat that they had and considering he is absolutely NOT going to tell his Mum that he suddenly got his wings back and he suspects his Father is behind it, Lucifer pulls up Amenadiel's name, walking out onto the balcony before he sends his text.

_L: Good morning, Bro. Interesting development. Seems our Father is at it again. I woke up with my wings returned this morning._

_A: What? How?_

_L: Well if I knew that, I wouldn't bloody well be texting you. Went to sleep without them, woke up with them. Gave the Detective a bit of a shock._

_A: Wait. Chloe saw your wings? Are you ok?_

_L: What? Oh. The Detective found out the truth days ago. After your visit. It's fine. She was most upset this morning about being so warm with one of my wings laying over her._

_A: This isn't good. We need to talk. I'm coming over._

_L: You most certainly are not. The Detective and her spawn are still asleep. I won't have you disturbing them again._

_A: You sound as if you've come to care a great deal about them._

_L: Which you already know. I fairly shouted it at you. Of course I care about them. Even the little urchin._

_A: Do they know?_

_L: The Detective does. What does this have to do with my wings?_

_A: Perhaps Father is trying to tell you something. You reached out to Him when you were dying, you've come to care for Chloe, and you've helped her to do a lot of good._

_L: And what, pray tell, do you think Father is trying to tell me?_

_A: Perhaps you are on your way to redeeming yourself in Father's eyes._

_L: I do not NEED his forgiveness. Nor do I want it. I don't need ANYTHING from him._

_A: Careful, brother. If you do care for Chloe and Trixie, remember how vulnerable they are. You cannot afford to anger Father any longer._

_L: I'll do whatever the bloody hell I please. I can protect the Detective and her child. What do you think I've been doing?_

_A: Have you? Or have you been just as selfish as you always are? Are they really safer, close to you? With Father, and Mother here as well?_

_L: Someone is trying to kill the Detective. So yes, she is safer here with me._

_A: Perhaps. But your feelings for her also makes you vulnerable. And puts a target on their back. If you care for them, then the easiest way to get to you is through them._

_L: Is that a threat, Brother?_

_A: No. A reminder. Because I know you don't think about these things._

_L: You don't know me as well a you think you do. My wings? Approval? From Father? Has our dear, loving Mum being around make you forget the truth of our family?_

_A: Wrong. I know you better than you know yourself. Deny it all you want. Just be careful of the consequences._

Deciding not to dignify his brother's last text with an answer, Lucifer looks up over the city and then turns back to go inside, pausing at the bottom of his bedroom stairs to look up at the sleeping Detective. It may be true that she makes him vulnerable in more ways than one. Amenadiel was right, that if someone wanted to get to him, going through the Detective would be the quickest way. He would do anything to keep her safe. He's already made a deal with dear old Dad to keep her safe. Shaking his head a little, he checks the time on his phone before he quietly goes up into the bedroom, deciding to get ready for the day and not tease the Detective this time.

Once showered and dressed, Lucifer makes good on his promise and makes a light breakfast for Choe, just bacon and an omelet with some toast, along with orange juice and a cup of coffee. Putting it all on a tray, he takes it up into the bedroom. "Rise and shine, Detective." He says in a slightly louder than normal voice, smirking a little as he watches her groan and try and hide. "Now, now. I've made good on my offer and brought you a bit of brekkie. And some coffee as well." He holds out the tray forward a bit toward her, thinking the coffee might be more of a lure at the moment.

Having been in the middle of a good dream, Chloe tries to hang onto it for a moment before she finally turns her head to look at Lucifer. Reality may not be so bad right this second. "What did you do, or what are you going to do?" She asks suspiciously as she sees the breakfast, finally pushing herself up so she can lean back against the headboard, and she plucks the coffee from the tray before Lucifer even has a chance to set it down. In her experience, people only do things like this when they're in trouble. More specifically, men only do something so nice when they've screwed up or are intending to do something they know she won't approve of.

Placing the tray on its little legs across his Detective's lap, Lucifer sits a little further back, leaning on a hand he places on the other side of her legs. "Whatever do you mean, Detective? Can't a Devil just do something nice?" He asks as he motions to the food.

Squinting her eyes suspiciously at Lucifer, because although he's been nice and thoughtful over the last few days, breakfast in bed is just a little too far. Chloe sips her coffee and mulls over it for a moment. "Yeah. You look guilty of something." She says suspiciously as she looks at him, but she drinks more of her coffee. "Fess up." She orders before she leans forward and starts to eat before the omelet gets cold, enjoying the food no matter the intentions behind it. Lets face it, Lucifer has had a lot of time to do a lot of things, and perfecting cooking seems to be one of them. Although for a man who delights in indulging his desires, and lives such a life of luxury and excess, it shouldn't be surprising to her perhaps.

"I am not guilty of anything, Detective." Lucifer insists seriously as he looks at her. "Although perhaps it is a very small apology for causing you to wake early with the unexpected arrival of my wings." He's digging deep for that excuse, and it's maybe the tiniest reason why he did breakfast. The rest is not because he was feeling guilty but because he wanted to entice the Detective to stay, and show her how good it could be. Despite Amenadiel's warnings and his own thoughts, he still believes he can keep her and the child safe.

"Mm-hmm. Well.. thank you, anyway. It's very sweet." Chloe says with a little smile as she looks at him for a few moments, continuing to eat. "So I'll drive Trixie to school, and then you can meet me at the station and we can go over everything we have and see if we can find any new leads." She decides as she gets a little more awake and thinks about the day.

Shaking his head for a few moments, Lucifer smirks at the Detective's confused expression. "I have a few calls to make this morning, remember? About my elevator.. and a little cleaning to do in here as well." He notes with a small smirk as he reminds her of their deal from the night before and motions toward his closet, even if it makes him a little more nervous as Amenadiel's words float through his mind for a moment.

"Hey. Is everything ok?" Chloe asks as she notices a slight flicker in his expression for the second time, and she puts her mug and everything down to lean forward and put her hand over his gently.

Turning his hand over in order to take his partner's hand, he gives it a small reassuring squeeze and nods. "Everything is just fine, Detective. I just had a conversation with my brother earlier, about my wings. But as you said earlier, we have more pressing matters." He points out before he releases her hand and stands. "Finish up, you still have to get your child up. I'll go finish breakfast for the little dependent." He reassures as he watches her for a moment and then turns to walk to the kitchen and do just that.

Watching Lucifer go for a moment with concern, Chloe finishes her food and takes her shower and dresses for the day before she returns the tray and dishes to the kitchen. By that time Trixie is up and eating her breakfast, and the Detective is struck by just how domestic the whole scene is. She has a brief flash of what it might be like, having this almost every morning, watching Trixie growing up. Having birthdays, Christmas (that might be complicated), and maybe even anniversaries in the penthouse. She has no doubt that Trixie will have Lucifer wrapped around her finger even more by then, and that Chloe herself would need to rein in Lucifer when it came to gift-giving, or anything else. He doesn't think twice when it comes to money, and they would have to have a discussion about that. Late nights, tough cases, her imagination conjures a thousand scenarios and plays them in flashes as she watches Trixie and Lucifer in the kitchen, not even realizing at first she had accepted another cup of coffee from Lucifer.

"Detective?" Lucifer asks as he notices her staring off into space, looking concerned since that's the second time he's said something to her. "Chloe?" He asks as he wraps his hand firmly around her upper arm to give her a sharp little shake.

Blinking a few times, Chloe looks up at Lucifer, "What?" She asks as she takes in the concerned look on his face, noticing that Trixie is also looking at her curiously.

"I asked you three times. You weren't responding. Are you alright?" Lucifer asks, loosening his hand on her arm before he slides it away, but still watches her with a little worry on his face.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Lucifer. I guess I was just daydreaming a little for a minute. Just about our deal. Nothing bad." Chloe reassures, putting her hand on his arm near his elbow for a moment, taking a drink of her coffee. "Almost read to go, monkey?"

Wanting to ask so many questions, but not sure if he should with the child sitting there, Lucifer just nods a little. "Well, as long as they aren't unpleasant thoughts." He smiles a little, if still seeming a little uncertain. He's wondering if she might be having second thoughts about their deal, or worse, their relationship altogether. Perhaps his wings had a different effect on her, or it made more of an impact on her than his devilish eyes. There are so many possibilities and Lucifer feels far from secure in how his partner feels or him.

Glancing back at Lucifer for a moment, Chloe smiles a little and she nods, unaware of his inner turmoil. "It's fine. Like I said, nothing bad. Not at all." She reassures again with a softer smile. "Don't you have some phone calls to make?" She prompts before ushering Trixie out of the room before her daughter can demand anything from Lucifer, something she's getting far too good at.


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you everyone for your reviews, I do love reading them! I'm glad you guys enjoy the fluff, it makes me feel better about future chapters. :) I hope you enjoy this one! I'll be posting one chapter each day until the grand conclusion which will be up on Wednesday, and then part 2 will be going up shortly after! Details to follow.**

**Brief warning, the next few chapters get a bit darker and more violent, so if that's not your thing, you might want to skip it.**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (and encouraged)!**

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After dropping Trixie off at school and getting to work, Chloe figures she has a little while before Lucifer will get there, so she goes toward Ella's lab to see if she might be able to offer any insights or help.

"Morning, Ella." She says as she steps into her lab, glancing around to see if there is anyone just wandering around or through or anything, but it seems that Ella has the lab to herself for the moment.

"Hey, Decker. I haven't.. gotten any more information from your house yet.. I'm sorry. I mean, the information we got from that arsonist pretty much lines up with the evidence, but, I don't know, something is still a little hinky to me, you know?" She asks as she looks up at her friend from what else she was working on, seeming a little worried.

"Oh, yeah. That's fine, Ella. I mean, do what you can. I think there's more to it, but I don't have all the information. You know, too close to the case and all that. I actually came to ask you about something else.. I mean, it's not like I have a lot of female friends, and we've sort of gotten to know one another, right?" Chloe asks as she looks at her, chewing at the corner of her lip.

Surprised and flattered, Ella nods and smiles. "Awww. You are so sweet We're totally friends!" She reassures, putting her paperwork aside, "So what, you and Lucifer got some troubles?" She asks with a little smile. "I hope not, you two are totally great together. I mean, the chemistry alone.. You guys have like, the strongest self control I have ever seen not to just be on each other all the time." She pauses for a moment as she looks at Chloe, then smiles sheepishly. "Sorry. That was too much information. Sometimes my inner thoughts become outer thoughts. But seriously, what's up?" She asks as she looks at the other woman.

Chloe blushes slightly and she clears her throat before nodding a little. "Yeah. Maybe a little too much." She agrees as she looks at Ella, before she takes a deep breath. "Well.." She starts off in a high tone uncertainly. "You know.. I've been staying with Lucifer since the fire, and it's been working out really well. Lucifer's actually been great with Trixie, and she has always liked him for whatever reason." She begins as she shakes her head, gesturing her disbelief. "So of course we've been spending more time together, getting to know one another outside of work.. And.. there may be some.. romantic qualities to it." She says cautiously as she looks at Ella, not wanting the forensic scientist to get too excited. "But last night, I mentioned looking for a place to stay after all this is over, and he..." She leans forward toward Ella a little "He asked me to move in with him. And I agreed to like a month trial, made a deal with him because you know how he likes all that with the Devil stuff." She waves her hand dismissively. "But this morning, I just.. it's like I got a flash of the future, with everything that could happen with holidays and Trixie growing up, and all of that.. And it wasn't bad. Not at all. It's just.. overwhelming." She explains with a little shrug, taking a deep breath. "Because if this doesn't end well.. what about our partnership? That means a lot to me." She explains, finally watching the other woman nervously to see what she thinks.

"Oh my gosh, he really asked you to move in?" Ella asks as she looks at Chloe, "Aww.. He is /such/ a sweetie. I knew he was. He's kinda prickly when you first meet him, you know? But I knew under all of that he had a good heart." She nods confidently before she thinks about everything else that Chloe said. "Well, I don't know.. I mean, you guys obviously got some pretty strict rules. And Lucifer doesn't seem the type of guy to mince words or be worried if you tell him how stuff's gonna be. You just got a lot going on right now and you're getting a little bit of cold feet. Try focusing on the positives instead of all the negatives, 'cause God knows you got enough of the negative right now." She offers as she looks at Chloe. "Just take it one day at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know? And Lucifer doesn't seem the type to let anything jeopardize his partnership with you." She considers, glancing out at the desks for a moment. "Yeah. I say just take it one day at a time. I think everything will be fine and work itself out, you know?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess you're right." Chloe says, taking sharp breath before she nods. "And you're right. It's overwhelming. I mean.. I've been working with Lucifer for a year, and he's pretty much the same here at work as he ever is. But when we get home, it's like.. He's different. He's been so sweet and thoughtful, and so open with me the last few days. At least, compared to how he normally is." She chuckles a little, and clasps her hands together in front of her, picking at her nails slightly. "Maybe it just has me freaked out because it's so different. And like I said, none of it is bad. It's amazing, actually. Lucifer can be so thoughtful, and he does stuff, because.. that's just what's supposed to be done. He doesn't even think there's another option, and even though it's stuff that I think it so thoughtful and amazing, if I try and say that, he just gives me this look like I've grown a second head or something." She considers and then adds. "Like I told him that there would have to be some sort of security on the elevator if I moved in, because I don't want to risk Trixie, and who knows what kind of people are used to just coming up, you know? And he didn't even hesitate. He's calling around this morning. No discussion, no argument. He just accepted that as a price he was willing to pay." She explains as she thinks about how Lucifer has been recently, shaking her head for a moment and looking down at her hands.

"Awww... Chloe.. That is completely adorable." Ella gushes as she looks at Chloe, putting one hand on her upper chest. "You know, some guys are really good with emotions and the words and stuff, but you know, some guys say more with their actions 'cause they're not good with emotions. I think Lucifer's one of those guys. He's trying to take care of you, Chloe. Show you how he feels. At least, that's what it sounds like to me. Whatever little things he's doing, I think he's trying to show you how much he likes you and cares for you." She offers as he watches Chloe, shrugging a little. "And I mean, I know I don't know him that well yet, but that's sort of the feeling I get from him." She explains, smiling as she looks at Chloe.

Nodding a little as she thinks about it, Chloe tilts her head back and forth for a few moments, letting Ella's words sink it. She takes a sharp breath and pauses for a moment before speaking. "You know. That actually really makes a lot of sense. I mean, the way he's been acting. And he's not really good with his emotions, I don't think. He sees a therapist, and yesterday he was dealing with some stuff and said he had to go see her to figure it out before we talked." She says slowly, before she smiles as she watches Ella. "Thanks, Ella. You've been a big help." She steps forward to give the younger woman a brief hug, before pulling her phone out of her pocket when it buzzes.

Ella returns the hug with a grin. "See? I knew you were a hugger. Just takes you a little while to warm up to people." She says with a nod, before she glances at Chloe's phone and grins broadly. "Speak of the Devil." She says before she giggles as she sees Lucifer on the ID.

Chuckling a little herself at Ella's quip, Chloe nods. "I'll talk to you later." She offers before she answers the phone. "Hey, Lucifer. Everything alright?" She asks, walking out into the main area and glancing around before she keeps walking toward the vending machine room to try and find a little privacy.

"Hello, Detective." Lucifer says smoothly in reply, the smile clear in his tone. "I was about to head to the station when Maze texted me. Apparently she found who she believes to be the ringleader. I was wondering if you'd like to come to Lux to witness the interrogation, or if you would rather keep your distance from any unpleasantness?" He asks in a light tone, but there's an inherent threat to his words when he talks about the person Maze is bringing in.

"Really?" Chloe asks in surprise, having known that Maze was good, but not having expected her to be quite this good. "No, you know what? I want to see it. I think I need to." She explains, taking a deep breath as she thinks about the person who wanted to hurt her and who put her child in danger. And if she's going to be living with Lucifer and having a relationship with him, then she feels like she needs to see what he might be so afraid of her seeing, the darkness he was talking about on the beach. The true Devil. Not because she's worried about him being that bad, or being afraid of him, but just because she wants to understand Lucifer himself, and why he thinks about himself a certain way. "I need to have some hand in putting this to rest." She adds as she glances around before she starts to head back for the door and her car, knowing she can text her Lieutenant and it would all be fine if she decided to take a personal day.

There's surprised silence from the other side of the phone before Lucifer clears his throat briefly. "Right. Well. I'll meet you in the bar, then, send me a text when you arrive if I'm not there. You might want to have a drink beforehand. You'll probably need it. I have some arrangements to make." He explains cryptically. "I'll see you soon, Detective." He says before he hangs up, to make whatever 'preparations' he was talking about.

~oOo~

When Chloe gets back to Lux,it looks like the place has been emptied of the stragglers that were still hanging around when she left to drop Trixie off that morning. Lucifer and Maze are on opposite sides of the bar as she approaches and she tries to gauge the mood between the two since it seems somewhat serious. It turns out she won't have to text Lucifer afterall, she muses to herself as she looks at the two supernatural people.

Maze grins as she sees Chloe. "Good. Now we can get started. Ready for a show, Decker?" She asks with more glee than she should probably have, looking over at her former boss for a minute. "I got everything set up." She adds with a little nod of her head, tossing back the rest of the drink.

Feeling a little more leisurely about it apparently, Lucifer turns his head slightly when Chloe approaches the bar. "Maze has been kind enough to set up cameras, with sound, so you can observe our version of an interrogation." He says seriously, briefly glancing at Maze before turning his gaze back to his Detective and taking a sip of his drink. He straightens up from where he was leaning over at the bar, and turns more fully to look at the Detective, keeping his face a careful, emotionless mask. "I think it would be best if you stay outside. I can't be as.. effective, if you're standing there." He explains cautiously as he watches Chloe.

Watching Lucifer carefully, Chloe approaches the bar and nods slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I want to hear this one first hand. But I understand. It could be awkward. Since I'm the victim and everything." She says as she looks at him, maybe a little concerned, and knowing that as a cop she should not be witnessing this. But as a mother, and as a victim, she needs the satisfaction of finding out what this person knows.

"Very well." Lucifer says as he finishes his drink, pouring one into a new glass which he hands to the Detective. "You may end up needing this." He says before he turns to lead the way down one of the back hallways of Lux that Chloe has never been in before, leading her to a storage room full of boxes of alcohol and various supplies like straws, napkins, and picks for olive or fruit. There's a small table that's been added with a laptop sitting on it, and a chair. "There you are, Detective. The feed is live. We're just two doors down." He says as he points in the right direction, wanting to make sure she understands how close she is. "You remember how to get back to Lux if you desire?"

"Yeah." Chloe says as she looks at him worriedly for a moment. He's not acting like the man she's known for the last few days, or the man she first met. He's more serious, restrained, shut down. Maybe this is what he meant when he was talking about the man he had to become in order to survive Hell. "I'm a big girl, Lucifer. You don't have to worry so much about me." She points out as she watches him, trying for a reassuring smile, but more worried about him because with his change in attitude, she can almost see him closing one emotional door after another between them.

"Very well, Detective. Have a seat and enjoy the show." Lucifer says with a cold smile as he looks at her, before he turns away and exits to go down to where Maze is waiting for him outside the interrogation room. This isn't easy for him, knowing that she'll be watching, so he's tried to lock away every good feeling he has about Chloe, every hint of affection in order to stop caring that she is watching, and be able to do what he considers his job.

Maze looks at him skeptically from where she waits just outside the door she put the perp in. "You want me to handle this? I mean, with Decker watching and all.." She trails off, having some doubts that he can perform, as it were, with his pet Detective watching.

"Why does everyone insist on questioning my abilities?" Lucifer says in frustration before he glares a little at Maze. "I assure you, I am more than capable of interrogating a man who put the Detective's life in danger." He says in a dangerous tone, his eyes flickering red briefly.

"Ok, I get it." Maze says, holding up her hands and shaking her head before she chuckles a little. "Man, if I knew all it took was putting Decker in danger to bring you back to yourself, I would have done it ages ago." She barely gets the sentence out before finding herself slammed against the wall with a hand at her neck, toes barely touching the ground.

Growling at his demon, eyes fully red now, Lucifer squeezes Maze's neck just enough to make it clear she's not to speak. "Do not /dare/ to threaten Chloe, Mazikeen. Do not think your status as my former lover, my bodyguard, or my friend will keep you from my wrath if I find out you plan to harm her in any way." He threatens through slightly gritted teeth, the growl in his tone deepening his voice. "Do I make m'self clear?" He demands as he looks at her, waiting until she nods before he abruptly drops her and steps back. "Very well." His tone has shifted very much to a master lording over his servants as he looks at where Maze landed, adjusting his cuffs and tugging his jacket together to straighten himself out. Any other thoughts have to be pushed aside right now. And Maze can't very well be upset with him right now. This is what she wanted, wasn't it? She wanted the Prince of Darkness, the Lord of Hell, the Devil. Well he's back, and more dangerous than ever.

Maze coughs a few times as she is released, and she lands on one knee, keeping her head bowed. It's been a long time since she's seen Lucifer like this, but she knows better than to talk back at the moment. No matter how much they've grown as people, or how they've become friends more than master/servent, in this very specific case, Maze knows her place in the cosmos. Slowly, she returns to her feet, rubbing her neck briefly. "Should we go in?" She asks in a softer tone, and without the snark, though she inwardly grins since she knows this is going to be fun if he's already so riled up. After getting a curt nod from the Devil, she heads into the room and glances at the camera in the corner with a smirk.

Lucifer takes a brief moment before he steps inside, walking around to look at the person strapped in a chair. "A woman. How unlikely." He says as he looks at her. "Don't think your gender will save you." He says in a cold tone as he looks at the woman.

Compared to their last guest, the woman is surprisingly calm. "Mr. Morningstar." She greets before she glances at Mazikeen. "I'm surprised you've gone to all this trouble." She says as she tugs on her hands where they're tied to the chair, as if to demonstrate that.

"Oh, she knows m'name, Mazikeen." Lucifer says with sarcasm heavy in his tone, and he carefully starts to remove his jacket. "This one is going to be difficult, I can just tell." Slowly, he turns to face the woman again, tilting his head slightly as he examines her. "Now.. you're going to tell me why you wanted Detective Decker dead." There's no room in his tone for argument.

Maze takes Lucifer's jacket from him and folds it neatly before setting it on a table to the side where she's laid out her torture kit, as she calls it, having several bottles of water set out as well as a bottle of whiskey. Once done, she walks back over to stand at Lucifer's right side and smirks at the woman in front of her.

"This is all very cute, and your intimidation tactics are spot on, but it doesn't work all that well when I know who's watching." She says as she looks up at the cameras. "The LAPD wouldn't let you torture a suspect. Intimidate maybe, but I know the game." She says with a bit of smugness as she looks up at the two. "So how about you stop your little schtick and we can just skip to where you take me to jail."

With a smile that's absolutely predatory, Lucifer undoes his cuffs and then slowly rolls them up. "Oh, my dear woman.." He says in a pitying tone. "That is not the LAPD watching. This is not being recorded." He explains as he turns to slowly step over to Maze's tools, waving his hand over them for a moment before he picks up a small nut hammer, smaller than a gavel, and twirls it around in his hand as he turns back toward the woman tied to the chair. "Do you know how many bones are in the human hand? I do. I was there when you all were created. And this.. is going to hurt."


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you guys for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, here is another interesting one for you, to help resolve everything. Let me know what you guys think!**

**WARNING: This chapter gets kind of dark and a little violent, so if that bothers you, you're warned.**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (and encouraged!)**

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From where she was observing, Chloe is more than a little shocked. The moment he stepped into the room, she could tell Lucifer was different. He was right, it was a little like flipping a switch. This side of him is even a little intimidating to her. Even though she knows him and knows he wouldn't hurt her. But when the Devil-style interrogation really starts, she puts her hands over her mouth, feeling sick to her stomach as she sees that while he doesn't do much of the actual torturing, he still seems to take a certain amount of glee in the woman's pain. Somehow, knowing that her partner is the Devil, that's one thing, but seeing the Devil in action is another. She can't help but imagine him doing this for centuries to souls in Hell. Intellectually she knows all the souls are really bad people, and he probably didn't do all that much since he was ruling over Hell, but her heart still aches. She told him that she was a big girl, but there's only so much that she can stand, watching the woman try to not give up the information, and watching the skill with which Lucifer draws out the answer to every question. More than that, what turns her stomach, is Lucifer's change in attitude, and the thought that she made him do this. That it's because of her that he's become this person again, something he did for literal centuries.

Wiping her tears from her eyes, Chloe finds something to scribble a note on and leaves it attached to the laptop before she downs the whiskey Lucifer gave her earlier, and leaves the room to return to Lux and then out to her car to drive away from the club. She has no destination in mind, she just knows she needs to get away, if only for a little while, just to get herself straight.

When all is said and done there isn't actually that much damage to the woman, and Lucifer comes out pleased with how much information they got, but his anger is barely contained due to the content of the information. For the moment, his sleeves are rolled back down and jacket back on. "Detective?" He asks as he steps into the room where she was watching, looking around for a few moments. "Detective?" He asks again, though there's really no place she could be hiding. A part of him is slightly relieved since it seems she might have missed some of the interrogation. Not seeing her in the room and getting no response, Lucifer walks over to look at the computer, seeing the paper there and picking it up to read it. It's quick and simple, in Chloe's handwriting.

_You were right. I'm sorry._

_-Chloe_

Staring down at it for a moment, Lucifer nods slowly as he suppresses any outward reaction. "Right. I should have known." He says before he turns, seeing Maze in the doorway, he holds the paper out to her. "Please make sure the police find our perpetrator in there. I'm going to pack a few things and then I'll be going to one of my other properties. I've already hired your replacement so it should be fine without me for a little while. The Detective is welcome to stay in the Penthouse as long as she needs to. There should be a company coming by tomorrow to put some security measure on the elevator. I'll text you the details." He informs his demon with a flat tone, taking a slow breath and adjusting his jacket for a moment, then adds, "I'll be visiting our co-conspirator before I leave the area." His tone is cold as he turns to walk past Maze and up toward Lux and eventually back to his penthouse, formulating a note of his own in his mind to inform the Detective of his intentions, and perhaps apologize for the damage. As the pain threatens to overwhelm him, he does what he does best, suppressing it and twisting it around to fuel his anger.

Despite his attempts, by the time he returns to Lux proper he can feel tears pricking the back of his eyes. How stupid of him to think that Chloe could forgive what he is. That she could possibly look past the monster and see the man. How could he think that he deserved something so good, so pure as her. Isn't that why he tried to keep it from her in the first place? Why he was so worried about her seeing that side of it. Who knows how long she even stayed before she was unable to stomach the sight of him.

Once back in his penthouse, he turns immediately toward his bar and sends Maze the details about the elevator as he gets himself a drink and gulps it down before he carefully sets the glass down, looking at his trembling hand with disgust. The worst part is, now he can't even work with the Detective. Perhaps she'll come to terms with it quickly. He'll consider their date an impossibility now, she'll never want him that way anymore. And clearly she'll need to find her own place to live. She'll probably leave as quickly as she can. But maybe they can still work together. She said she knew he wasn't evil, but she'd never seen the monster he truly is.

Packing a bag, Lucifer takes a deep breath as he finally sits down at his desk to write out a note for his – no, not his anymore. The Detective. Folding it up, he places it an envelope and puts Chloe's name on the front in a neat scrawl before he walks over to the bar and props the note up on a cup, hoping that she'll see it when she comes in. Taking one last look around the penthouse as it is, with the Detective's shoes sitting near the couch, one of her jackets over the bench of his piano, and Trixie's drawing still sitting on the bar from the night before, he picks up his bags and leaves, deciding to stay in one of his properties in the hills of Los Angeles. Far enough away that Chloe won't know where to find him without unnecessary investigation, but close enough that he can return if he's needed. And he can still come back to Lux if there's some sort of emergency.

But before he can leave town, he has some other business to attend to. Self-pity transfers into anger as he remembers who it was that ended up being the mastermind behind this entire affair. It's difficult for him to control his Devil face as his fury bubbles just beneath the surface as he drives. Perhaps it's better the Detective saw him for the monster he is because while he may not be able to return to Hell, he is going to bring a little Hell to Earth this evening.

~oOo~

Arriving at his destination, Lucifer looks up at the apartment building, tugging down his cuffs a little in an agitated gesture before he strides inside, his shoulders hunched a little, anger coursing through his veins and it's only through incredible effort that he remains in his human skin. Outside the apartment he takes a moment to listen to how many people are nearby who may be able to call the police and then smiles coldly. The building is nearly empty. Perfect. He knocks on the door and stands to the side so he can't be seen. He needs to get into the apartment without breaking the door down. He needs to keep the suspicion down, and a knocked down door will raise a few eyebrows awfully quick.

When the door opens, Lucifer steps into the doorway and he smiles coldly at the man. "Hello, Daniel." His tone is thick with restrained rage and forced cheerfulness. He shoves Daniel backwards before he can speak, not using all his strength yet, then he steps inside the door and kicks it closed behind him.

Drawing his gun, Dan lifts it to aim at Lucifer. "This is harassment, and trespassing. Get the hell out. Or better yet, don't. Give me any excuse to pull this trigger and finally get you the hell out of my life." His tone is angry and threatening, and his finger hovers over the trigger as he glares at the object of his hatred and jealousy.

"Daniel. Did you think we wouldn't find out what you did? Did you think /I/ wouldn't find out? The Detective is much more clever than you give her credit for. She would have figured it out if I didn't get to it first. But then, you never really saw that in her, did you? You tried to keep her down at every turn, keep her at your level. But she's so much more clever than you, Daniel." Lucifer says in a cold tone, not caring about the gun since the Detective is nowhere near him. "The familiarity with the Detective's home, avoiding Beatrice's room... Inside knowledge that could be leveraged against both of your co-conspirators. Those all pointed to a cop. She didn't want to believe it, you see. Not after that mess with Malcolm. But once a dirty cop, always a dirty cop. Did you truly hate her so much that you wanted to kill her?" He takes a few steps toward Dan. "Well, don't you worry, Daniel. I'm not going to turn you in. But I am going to give you the punishment you deserve." He threatens with cold amusement, pushing aside the hand holding the gun before landing a punch square on his jaw.

Stumbling back a few steps after the punch, Dan puts a hand against his face, testing for blood for a moment, before bringing his gun back up to point at the man before him, but he gives a rather nasty smile. Seeing as the jig is up anyway at this point, Dan glares at Lucifer. "I was good for her! We were good together. We had our bumps, but she would have let Palmetto go and then everything would have been great again. Until you." He growls a little as he looks at Lucifer. "I didn't want to kill her, I knew that schmuck wouldn't succeed. I knew Chloe would have her fire alarms working. She needed to lose everything. She needed to know that /I/ was there for her. That I could still support her." He thrusts his gun in Lucifer's direction several times, taking an aggressive step toward the taller man. "And it would have worked. Except for you. You've been screwing up my life for a year now. I thought Officer Iona would take care of that. I knew you would play the hero. She was already on leave pending a Psych Evaluation. A few well placed words here or there, it wasn't hard to push her over the edge, give her the information she needed to lure you out. Chloe wasn't supposed to be there. You were supposed to run off like you always do to confront the suspect. But she couldn't even aim a damn gun right." He says in a dark tone, full of frustration.

"Thank you, Daniel." Lucifer says, surprised at the confession, but his smile is cold. "You just got rid of any qualms I might have had about your punishment. You sent a mentally ill woman over the edge, you threatened the life of your child and a woman you supposedly love, in order to try and get them back. You are a dirty cop. You are the worst of the worst. And here I thought you were just a Douche. I never thought you would stoop to this level." Lucifer admits as he looks at the man coldly, "This will be so much more fun knowing just how guilty you are." He says with his usual light tones, though there's no emotion behind it, his eyes flat and dead his, his smile predatory. "Go ahead, Daniel. Pull the trigger. If you hate me so much, then get rid of me! Give in to your desires." He urges darkly, putting his hands into his pockets casually.

"I already knew you were nuts, man, but this is one time where I will gladly do what you say." Dan lifts the gun a little more and fires two shots at Lucifer's chest without hesitation. When the bullets hit but fall down to the floor without any injury to Lucifer, it doesn't phase Dan as much as it might others. Afterall, he's a cop. He knows all about bulltproof vests and other protective clothing. He still tries firing three more shots in tight formation at his chest, just in case, before he aims down and fires two Lucifer's leg. When none of that seems to phase Lucifer at all, beyond a few twitches from the impact, he starts to get a little nervous. Resolve hardening and with a more determined look, he lifts his gun swirftly to fire a single shot into Lucifer's forehead. Watching the taller man's head snap back briefly, Dan's face morphs into one of fear as he sees that there's not even so much as a scratch on him from a direct headshot.

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel." Lucifer tsks as he looks at Daniel, briefly closing his eyes as he twists his head one way and then the other to loosen up. When he opens his eyes, they are red with Hellfire. "You're more tenacious than most. No less than I would expect from a gutter rat such as yourself." He says as he tugs his jacket together and takes a step toward the Douche, watching in satisfaction when the man fires off a few more rounds in desperation and then drops his gun to stumble back, unable to look away. "Now you're starting to understand. You should have quit while you were ahead after Palmetto." He doesn't show his Devil face yet, not wanting the man to completely wet himself. Not yet. He steps forward swiftly and uses one hand to lift Dan off the floor, glaring at him. "You put the Detective in danger. Not once, but twice. You put your own daughter in danger. I'm afraid that's unforgivable, and you're going to have to pay. It's not your lucky day though. This is not going to be quick." He says as he throws Dan across the room into his TV cabinet, which shatters, items falling out and onto the floor around him.

"Yes! Now you understand, Daniel! The fear she's been living in, the fear she had to deal with, losing everything!" Lucifer raises his voice a little with a vicious smile as he watches the man get up weakly and scramble to the kitchen to grab a knife. As if that would work any better than a gun. Stalking after him, the Devil grabs Daniel's wrist when he tries to slice at him, twisting until he hears bones snap and a scream of pain coming from the man in front of him. Yes, this he is going to enjoy. "I am sorry for the Detective and her child, who will have to deal with your trial." At the surprised look from Daniel, he chuckles without humor. "Oh yes. I'm not going to tell the police everything. But the young woman you used to do your dirty work, the one whose husband the Detective put in jail, Millie? She's on her way to the police right now, and she's in a talkative mood. I'm afraid you won't be doing much talking for a while, though." He says as he takes the knife from Daniel's hand and then punches him, flipping the knife around in his hand as he stalks after Detective Douche to deliver his final punishment.

By the time Lucifer leaves the apartment, it looks like half a gang was in there beating up on the man. He leaves the Douche beaten, bruised, broken and bloodied, but alive. He's even nice enough to leave the man's cellphone nearby so he can call 911 when he regains consciousness. When he makes it out into the afternoon air, Lucifer pulls his pocket square out and takes a slow, deep breath as he wipes off any remaining spatters of blood from his hand, glancing around to make sure there's no one watching before he pulls off his jacket and shirt, retrieving a new shirt from his bag and slipping into it before he gets into his Corvette. Now he can leave knowing that Chloe will be safe. She will be heartbroken, but she'll be safe. She'll have the time she needs without worrying about looking over her shoulder. Gripping the steering wheel firmly for a moment, Lucifer glances at himself in the rear view mirror, hating himself for the monster he so clearly is, but he can't be unhappy about protecting the Detective. Turning his eyes forward, he starts the car and then drives up into the hills to his property, stopping only long enough to get booze and groceries.


	20. Chapter 20

**FINAL CHAPTER! Thank you to everyone who has been reading this, and those who reviewed. I am so glad you guys liked the last chapter, I was pretty nervous about it! There will be a part 2 to this, and I will be posting the first chapter sometime this evening, called Build it Up. While there will be no explicitness, it will be much more M rated than this was, so please keep that in mind!**

**Again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and being so positive. You guys rock, and have made writing this so much fun.**

**EDIT: Build it Up is now posted, which is the part 2 continuation of this story!**

**Reviews/Comments welcome (And encouraged!)**

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For two hours Chloe drives around as she tries to get her thoughts and feelings in order, which is surprisingly easy with LA traffic. She heard from her Lieutenant that they caught the person, who apparently was the girlfriend of some drug ringleader she had put away, and they wanted to make her pay. And further punish Chloe's family by making her daughter grow up without her mother. She was told that there was more information and the woman wasn't working alone, but that's all her Lieutenant was willing to share with her. That's when she decides to go back to Lux and talk to Lucifer. For the hundredth time, she wonders what Lucifer was like before. Before he was cast out, when he was nothing more than a rebellious son. After parking and heading inside Lux, Chloe looks around, half expecting Lucifer to be at the bar, wondering where she had been, ready to greet her with his signature 'Detective!'. Instead, there's no one but Maze behind the bar. And for the first time in a while, she's glaring at the Detective.

"Is Lucifer upstairs?" Chloe asks as she points upward toward the penthouse, not even coming down the stairs to talk to Maze if she's just going to have to go back up them again to get to the elevator.

Maze continues her glare, knowing exactly why Lucifer left. "No. He's gone." She says in a flat tone. She may not want to be Lucifer's employee or bodyguard, or minion anymore, but that doesn't mean she doesn't consider him a friend, and someone she cares about. She always knew this human was going to be bad for him. But now, they're stuck here on Earth, rather than to finally be able to return to Hell. Which they might have done, had Lucifer had not already given that all up for this human woman.

"What do you mean.. gone?" Chloe asks in surprise as she slowly starts to move down the stairs toward the former bartender. She's surprised, but also scared at this news, not sure where Lucifer might go or what he might do. Besides, they were making progress, and they were going to try and live together. Lucifer can't just leave after everything he said the night before, after the moments they shared.

"I mean gone, Decker. You saw who he really is, you saw the Devil, and you ran. How the hell did you /think/ he was going to take that?" Maze snaps as she glares at the blonde. "You know what, I'm not going to help you. I always knew you would be bad for him, and because of you, we can't even go home anymore. We can't return to Hell, all because of you." She says in a firm tone as she points at Decker, before she finishes her drink and grabs her jacket. "You know, that's the first time I've seen him like that in /years/. All because your precious little life was threatened. I'm glad. Maybe now he can get over whatever obsession he has with you." She spits out as she glares at Chloe before moving past her, deliberately knocking into her as she heads up the stairs.

Stunned, Chloe twist a little with the impact, staring at Maze when she leaves. She has no come back to that. He wouldn't really just take off like that, right? The note was to apologize for not sticking it out, that she had to leave. She thinks back to what she wrote in her haste to leave. And immediately hates herself for it. Of course Lucifer would take that wrong after everything he's been through in his life. Stupid, stupid Chloe. But what did Maze mean, they couldn't return to Hell because of her? She hadn't done anything, and she honestly has no idea how transport like that works anyway. Making a decision, she turns and jogs for the elevator, riding it up impatiently, hoping that maybe the ninja demon was wrong, or maybe Lucifer is still around somewhere, packing maybe. "Lucifer?" She calls when she gets off the elevator, listening before she moves around the penthouse, checking the rooms. "Lucifer?!" She shouts again, hesitating when she gets into his closet and sees one drawer ajar and several empty hangars. Maybe it's just an overnight trip, or something. And he did promise to clean out some of his closet and drawers for her, so one empty drawer doesn't mean anything. She opens more drawers, finding some of his clothes missing, and more than just one or two days' worth, too.

Checking out her phone and walking out into the main room, Chloe looks around for any other signs of him being gone, and she finally spots the envelope, hurrying over to it and nearly tearing it open in her haste. She takes a deep breath as she opens it, shaking her head a bit at Lucifer's neat scrawl and frowning slightly at the first line, but also some of the obvious signs of hesitation, a sense of dread settling in her stomach.

_Detective Decker,_

_I'm sorry for what you had to witness today. I tried to tell you I was a monster. I only wish you had listened to me. Ever the optimist, you want to think the best of everyone. I suppose you never could have guessed how wrong you were in this case. It's quite alright. I know what I am. I have had literal eons to come to terms with it. Please don't feel guilty about not being able to handle it. No one should have to. For a time, perhaps, I thought I could be different. I thought I could be a better man. For you. It turns out some people cannot change, Detective._

_I've left for a little while to give you the space you no doubt need. You can continue to stay at the penthouse for as long as you need, of course. I'll be staying elsewhere. Naturally, I would never make you go on a date with me now, after what you've learned. And I will consider our deal from last night null and void as well. I see now how a relationship between us would be impossible. You're too good. Too selfless for the Devil. You deserve someone better. And I see now that I'm not worth it. I hope eventually we can resume our partnership, but I understand it may be some time. If ever. Rest assured you will not see me until you are truly ready. You have my word. If you wish me gone from your life forever, you need not ever lay eyes on me again._

_Please. Don't contact me until you are sure of your own thoughts and feelings. I don't need your misplaced apologies, or any explanations you may be struggling to come up with. Nor do I need any comfort you may want to be giving me. You are a compassionate woman. But don't waste it on someone like me._

_I am truly sorry for drawing this out. For being selfish enough not to let you go. For allowing you to be exposed to the Divine. My brother was right. The Divine and mortals aren't meant to mix. Ignorance would have been bliss, in your case. Until such a time that you feel you can work with me again, please take care of yourself._

_Lucifer Morningstar_

Chloe just stares at the letter in shock as she reads it, putting a hand over her mouth and staggering over to the couch as tears fill her eyes. Of course. She had opened up to him, started to think of more, which for her was a big deal, but she forgot what an even bigger deal it was for Lucifer. She forgot what a leap this was for him as well. And now he's closed up on her again, literally removing himself from her life because he thinks she's realized some truth.

Carefully putting the letter aside, the Detective allows herself to break down, wrapping one arm around her waist and leaning over her legs a little as she mourns for everything she's lost, and for what might have been between her and Lucifer because now, she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to get it back. By the time her phone rings, the tears have stopped and she just sort of feels numb, but she still quickly pulls out her phone, fumbling with it in the hopes that it's Lucifer. Seeing it's from her Lieutenant instead, she sniffles and picks it up, her voice a little hoarse. "Hello?"

"Detective Decker... I'm calling about Detective Espinoza.."

* * *

**THE END **

**P.S. Stay tuned for Part 2!**

**NOTE: Part 2 is now up, called Build it Up!**


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